LUCKNOW: Reacting to the Uttar Pradesh government’s order to send slackers and tainted officers and employees aged above 50 on compulsory retirement, while officers gave a mixed response, the employees’ unions rejected the order calling it impractical. They threatened to launch a stir if the order was not withdrawn.
While a number of officers felt that the government should try and formulate a course to transform the system positively by making such staff perform under all conditions, an equal number supported the move saying that it was high time to rid the system of deadwood.
“It’s unjustified. The fear of being thrown out may hamper the functioning further,” said an officer. However, some scoffed at it saying it was not easy to implement the order which was a nothing but old wine in a new bottle. “The old order could not be implemented earlier as it had a lot of loopholes,” said another officer requesting anonymity.
However a good number felt the other way. "Only those who come to office just to have a leisure time doing nothing certainly need to worry. Those who are efficient and slog with dedication don’t have a reason to panic," said an officer of special secretary level.
As per an estimate, if the order is implemented in letter and spirit, around 10 per cent of government staff will have to leave.
Meanwhile, the clerical staff called it a government tool to exploit the workforce. "It is not a pragmatic move and needs to be opposed tooth and nail. We are also planning to launch our protest in case the government fails to withdraw it," said HK Tiwari, president State Employees Joint Council (SEJC) in Lucknow.
Similarly, the UP Workers' Front suggested the government to introduce a training programme to enhance skills of those employees who failed to match the criteria of performance. They expressed concern over the existing staff shortage in different departments. "This move will precipitate the situation further. Government should think in terms of filling the vacancies rather than retiring the staff compulsorily," said Tiwari.