Prudent step

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Prudent step

Friday, 11 February 2022 | Pioneer

Prudent step

Delhi Govt’s decision to regularise 700 DJB staff is a step in the right direction

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently announced the regularisation of 700 contractual Delhi Jal Board (DJB) employees. Correctly terming it “a landmark” and “first-of-its-kind step” which went against the nationwide trend of privatisation and lowering the number of permanent employees — the handover of Air India to the Tata Group is the most recent example — Kejriwal added that other State Governments will now be compelled to follow the trend set by the AAP dispensation in the national Capital. The Chief Minister said none of the past Governments in Delhi had regularised so many employees in one go. The Government was planning to regularise staff in every department of the Delhi Government, he added, but was quick to add the popular refrain that most of the powers with regard to administering the Capital lay with the Centre; so his hands were tied. The step is against conventional wisdom and common public perception that once employees are regularised, they do not work hard and become complacent and lazy. However, Kejriwal said that if the Governments engaged with their employees, addressed and solved their problems, then no one could work as hard as them.

There is some grain of truth in his belief. One, the excellent performance of the education and healthcare sectors in Delhi, which were not too long ago creaking under the weight of infrastructural shortcomings and pressure arising out of high expectations, especially during the trying period when the COVID-19 pandemic was ravaging the nation in full force, was singularly the result of the hard, sincere work and honest intentions of school teachers, headmasters, principals, nurses, doctors and all other frontline workers. Two, most of the 700 DJB workers said on record that they were “very happy” with their regularised jobs and enhanced salary and other perks. The regularised employees will be able to enjoy perks and benefits such as medical facilities, Government accommodation, leave benefits and terminal dues such as gratuity, etc. They will also receive arrears from 2019. Now that the Government has taken care of us, we will work with even higher motivation to show that its decision wasn’t wrong, was the popular refrain. Also, going by the record of, say, the MCD or the NDMC which utilise the services of a large number of contractual staff, most of them are ‘ghost’ workers, not seen in flesh!

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