KOCHI: The High Court on Monday stayed the state government’s move to regularise 1,850 employees working on contract or temporary basis in the Kerala State Cooperative Bank (Kerala Bank).The order was issued on a petition filed by Kottayam native P R Haridas, 30, who was included in the rank list prepared for direct recruitment to the post of clerk/cashier in the erstwhile Kottayam District Cooperative Bank.
He sought a directive to the government to fill all those vacancies in Kerala Bank that are set apart for direct recruitment through the Public Service Commission as stipulated in Rule 80 (3A) of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act. He alleged the authorities were trying to illegally regularise temporary/contract employees in various vacancies, including clerical post, in the bank.
Hasty steps are being taken to regularise the service of 124 people in Idukki, 78 people in Thrissur, 52 people in Wayanad, 14 people in Kozhikode and almost 50 people in Kottayam, he alleged. “Altogether, the proposal is to regularise 1,850 contract/temporary employees who haven’t event five years of service.
These persons do not have the prescribed qualification even to apply for a selection pursuant to the PSC notification. The bid is to bring such unqualified persons into the bank’s service under the guise of regularisation. This is highly unjust and against the Act,” Haridas submitted.
The bank had placed a proposal for regularisation of temporary employees before the government. The government asked the bank to resubmit it with a work-study report. Now, the Kerala Bank CEO resubmitted the proposal and the cabinet is likely to take a decision on Wednesday. “Such a decision will cause irreparable loss to the petitioner and other candidates in the rank list,” he submitted.