the goan I network
MAPUSA
On the back foot for non-payment of salaries to 36 contract workers, Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte on Thursday said those who continued with their jobs will be paid wages by the government, but refused to commit whether they will be re-appointed.
“Salaries will be paid…I have issued instructions that whoever have been there and are still doing the job, you need to pay them. That’s what I have told the collector. I think they have already moved the file. They will be paid for what work they have done,” Khuante said.
The revenue minister, however, said that there was no job guarantee given to any of them, as their appointment was purely on contract basis.
He said there was no question of renewal as their contract was over in November last year.
“There was no guarantee given to them to continue with the job after November. Some voluntarily left, while some remained. We will pay them and for the additional duties they have done,” he maintained.
Khaunte said that the existing contract staff were re-appointed every five or six months and that is how some of them have been there for one or two years.
“There is no continuity in their case. They did not have any eligibility for converting or keeping them…Government cannot relax criteria which are non-regulatory and then land in a soup tomorrow…So for that purpose, the new mode of recruitment was taken up,” he added.
He said since the contract of the existing temporary staff was over, the new process of hiring was put in motion wherein the posts of LDCs and others were announced.
“The current contract staff was already told to either go through the new process or look out for new opportunities,” Khaunte said.
On Thursday, The Goan reported that 36 contract staff were not paid salaries for four months.
Although the contract of the 36 temporary staff ended in November, the staff continued to diligently attend work at the North Goa collectorate and other revenue offices in the North.
The contract staff were waiting with hope for the early return of Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar who had promised to renew their
contract.
Govt responsible to pay salaries on time, says employees association
MAPUSA: The Goa Government Employees Association (GGEA) President John Nazareth on Thursday said it was government’s responsibility to pay all its employees on time and blamed the department concerned for failing to get the salary file of the contract staff cleared in time.
“It’s the government’s responsibility to pay all its employees in time. Even Human Rights Commission is very strict on this aspect that salaries cannot be delayed,” Nazareth said.
He said since the chief minister was not around, the department must be having some difficulty in clearing the file. He said the department should have taken extra effort to clear the file on time.
“The CM has been out of administration since February, and the salaries are not paid from December onwards. This is nothing but the fault of the department not to get the file cleared from CM’s office in time,” the GGEA chief said.
“As far as I know, the CM never keeps a file pending as far as salaries is concerned,” he added.
The GGEA President further said that it was unfortunate that the staff were kept on contract basis for more than five years.
“But contract is a contract where there is mutual understanding between both the parties. And since they have been appointed on contract, they don’t have much say to demand a permanent job,” he said.
Nazareth said it was the duty of the elected government not only in Goa but throughout the world that young and educated people are gainfully employed.
“In contract appointment, they are always underpaid. And then, besides being educated, they are not in a position to support their family,” he opined.
