CM directs swift release of temporary employees' salaries ahead of Dashain

GANGTOK, (IPR): A coordination meeting was chaired at Chintan Bhawan by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang-Golay today.

During the meeting, matters regarding the release of salaries for temporary employees and other pertinent issues were thoroughly discussed with the heads of all State government departments.

Present in the meeting were Chief Secretary in-Charge/ACS Home R Telang, SDGP Akshay Sachdeva, principal secretaries, CEO Election department, secretaries, Chief Accounts Officers, Senior Accounts Officers, Accounts Officers and Accounts staff from all departments.

The departments presented the current status of salary disbursements for temporary employees to the Chief Minister, detailing the total number of employees who have joined and those for whom salaries have been released.

Other issues, such as insufficient funding, absenteeism, and documentation discrepancies, were also briefly presented.

On the occasion of the approaching Vijaya Dashami, the Chief Minister conveyed his best wishes to all present. He explained the urgent nature of the meeting, which was called to address issues related to the release of salaries for new appointees. He clearly articulated the following key points:

- Temporary employees who joined before the election but did not report to work and reported to duty after the election; the absence from duty to be treated as Leave Without Pay (LWP).

- Temporary employees who received orders before the election and joined post-election should have their salaries prepared from the date of joining.

- Temporary employees who joined but did not report to work and who are irregular are to be terminated immediately.

- Temporary employees who applied for leave right after joining are to be granted LWP.

- Sabbatical leave for temporary employees is to be allowed only after six months of continuous service.

The Chief Minister emphasised that, with the upcoming Dashain festival, employees should not experience any inconvenience due to non-receipt of salaries. He stated that, according to departmental reports, salary bills for most employees have been cleared for August and September.

He further elaborated that proper verification of attendance will be conducted for temporary employees who joined before the elections, and arrears may be released accordingly, only after thorough verification.

He directed the Pay and Accounts division under the Finance department to expedite the clearance of all pending salary bills before Dashain. He also provided clarifications regarding Compassionate Appointments, stating that the conditions have already been notified, and candidates are not required to seek recommendations from their respective MLAs. He stressed that departments should make an effort to correctly inform the candidates.

The Chief Minister announced that a proposal to revise the current maternity leave provision is underway. Phase 1 will grant six months of maternity leave to female employees, followed by Phase 2, which introduces Child Care Leave that either parent in State government service can avail.

In conclusion, he reiterated his request for the Pay and Accounts division to clear all pending bills and prioritise the release of salaries for temporary employees before the Dashain festival.

As directed by the Chief Minister, Rinzing Chewang Bhutia, secretary of Planning & Development, and the Department of Personnel (DOP) departments, provided the following clarifications and discussed pertinent points for effective management of leaves and other departmental issues.

-Under the Sabbatical Leave Scheme, temporary employees working in State government departments on Work-charged, Muster Roll, Adhoc, Consolidated Pay, and One-Family One-Job programs, drawing pay from the Consolidated Fund of the State, are eligible for leave only after completing six months of continuous service. Similarly, regular government employees wishing to avail of the leave must have completed at least five years of continuous service.

-If and when temporary employees submit applications for sabbatical leave immediately after joining, citing studies or other reasons, the departments should make decisions in accordance with the established rules of the Sabbatical Leave Scheme.

-Maternity leave applications can be processed at the departmental level, according to established norms and rules. It was announced that the existing maternity leave would be converted to 'Maternity Leave' and ‘Child Care Leave,’ of six months' duration each. A notification regarding this change will be issued soon, it was informed.

-Attendance verification of new appointees from their date of joining must be conducted with utmost vigilance to ensure there are no discrepancies at the time of salary release.

-Pay and Accounts is requested to clear pending salary bills before the upcoming Dashain holidays.