Punjab Government has become the enemy of Punjabi University Staff-Mohindru
Dr Pankaj Mohindru
The Punjab Government has paid to its employees the three enhanced DA arrears from 2013 to 2015 to its employees in the past however, the University is not ready to pay the enhanced D.A arrears from 80% to 90% from 1.7.2013 to 31.1.2014 and thereafter further enhanced from 90% to 100% from 1.1.2014 to 30.9.2014 and then 100% to 107% for the period 1.7.2014 to 28.2.2015 to its employees.
Punjab and Haryana High Court has already given the verdict in favor of petitioner Jasdeep Singh Toor and 36 other University employees at the beginning of this month to pay the DA arrears along with interest of @9% per annum. It is reported to the press after that court decision on dated 8-9-2020, around 185 University teachers have gone to the court to get their pending DA Arrears through hired advocates at Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh. The rest of the University teaching and nonteaching employees are also in the process of collection of money to be paid to the advocates and would soon knock on the doors of Punjab and Haryana High court to get their pending DA arrears from the period of 2013 to 2015. This is a pity that University Authorities are silent on this issue and the precious money of their university employees is going dissipated to get their rights every time from the courts.
The state of affairs has become so precarious that to overcome the financial burden the Punjab Government is interfering in University matters which were well approved by previous Syndicates of the university. The University has implemented an old pension scheme for its employees hired from the year 2004 to July 2012. The department of Finance has directed the University Administration through a letter to review its decision and to implement the New Pension Scheme (NPS) for all the employees hired between 2004 and 2012.
It is also being found that the Finance department has serious objections to the increased salaries of 188 contractual teachers as recently their salaries were increased from Rs 21,600 to Rs 44,000 at the beginning of this year. It is feared by the contractual faculty members that their salaries may be reverted to Rs 21,600/- as demanded by the government to review this salary hike which is against the government norms in the forthcoming scheduled Syndicate meeting scheduled meeting in the end of this month on dated 30th Sept 2020. Moreover, the State govt. finance department further has written to the university not to regularize the services of contractual employees at all. The Contractual faculty members are well competent, highly qualified, and experienced and working for more than a decade in the university.
Dr. Pankaj Mohindru, Chairman Human Rights Cell, Punjab Congress has appealed to the State Government through the press to look into these matters on an urgent basis as it is apprehended by the State University employees that suddenly the state government has become their enemy.
The writer-Dr. Pankaj Mohindru (Columnist) is a Professor in Punjabi University, Patiala and is an expert in the field of Human Resource Management and Artificial Intelligence and is guiding research in this field.
(The views expressed are personal)
September,20,2020
