By Mithun Dasgupta, IANS,
Kolkata : The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, which had earlier warned its employees of break in service if they did not report for duty on the day of the trade union strike Feb 28, has, in a comedown, asked absentee employees to give ‘valid reasons’ for not turning up, failing which they will have to suffer a day’s salary cut and loss of a service day.
Absentee employees have been sent a show cause notice by the finance department, and have to furnish a satisfactory response within a week.
In order to foil the shutdown, the chief minister had herself threatened that employees participating in the shutdown will have break in service for unjustified absence on the strike day.
The official memorandum issued recently states that there will be only deduction of one day’s salary, and the loss of a service day, unless the employee fails to furnish a satisfactory response.
Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh, who issued a strike eve circular stating none of the employees will be granted leave Feb 28, later said the absence will be treated as loss of a day’s salary, but their seniority will not be affected.
“The absence will be treated as a loss of day’s service. It might affect promotions or increments where the length of service is considered. But seniority will not be affected. This is no fine, but a mere deduction,” he said.
This has come as a bit of respite for the babus, at least for this time, as the ‘dies non’ (no work, no pay) clause that the government has invoked, is much lighter than a break in service.
According to the show cause notice, the employees will be spared punishment if they cite with proof any one from among a list of ‘acceptable excuses’. It also stated that dislocation of traffic will not be accepted as an acceptable excuse.
Political observers say the government is not going ahead with invoking the break-in-service clause as it can be challenged in court. They also opine the tough stance now is not necessary as the circular, issued on the strike eve, had ensured over 84 percent turn up at the state Secretariat, the nerve centre of the administration on Feb 28, which was more than the usual 70-75 percent on other working days.
But even the government’s decision to cut a day’s salary of employees has drawn a lot of flak from trade unions.
“How can the government go for pay cut without declaring the strike illegal?” CITU state president Shyamal Chakrabarty asked.
The Left Front had threatened pay cut during opposition sponsored strikes and shutdowns during its long stint in power, but never followed up on it. Chakraborty dubbed the pay cut order of the present regime as “illegal and undemocratic”.
Economists observe that the government’s decision to cut a day’s salary “is a knee-jerk reaction” to make the government employees understand that a strike day should not be taken as a holiday.
“It is a knee-jerk reaction, which was required to make people understand that a shutdown cannot be taken as a holiday like Saturday or Sunday,” Ajitava Raychaudhuri, Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University, told IANS.
Raychaudhuri, however, felt such measures should not be resorted to in future.
“I think attitude towards a strike is changing. So the step of pay cut should not be continued as over using that would make it repressive,” he averred.
(Mithun Dasgupta can be contacted at [email protected])