The watch and ward staff of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are upset that their long-pending demands have not been addressed. The employees, who look after the monuments, are recruited on a temporary basis, and are allegedly paid less than the fixed salary, in cash. One of their demands is for payment of salary through bank accounts.
Field officers of the ASI, entrusted with protecting the monuments, hire locals on a temporary basis for watch and ward duty. Such employees have been serving the department for more than 15 to 20 years. “We have been made to toil for long hours on a low salary. We protect the monuments day and night with no job security,” said one of the employees, who wished not to be named.
“A majority of us do not have records to show we are employees of the department. Hence, if some of us speak to the media, senior officers threaten us saying we will lose our jobs,” said an employee posted in Hassan. Moreover, the salary is not uniform. While some get around ₹11,500 a month, others get just ₹3,500 a month.
Some of these employees have formed a union to fight for their rights. In February, they staged a protest with the support of the Hassan district unit of the Central Indian Trade Unions demanding regular salaries, among other demands. “The major problem is lack of proper documentation of the employees with the department. Their attendance is not taken. It is astonishing that even now their salary is paid in cash, which is against the law,” said Dharmesh, district president of the CITU, and president of the temporary employees’ union.
The department recruits attendants through the Staff Selection Commission. The exams are conducted in English and Hindi. Aspirants with higher education qualifications get appointed to the posts and quit when they get higher posts, forcing the department to get the work done by temporary staff.
Superintending Archaeologist K. Moortheshwari told The Hindu that temporary staff recruitment is outsourced, and payment is made through the outsourcing agencies.
“The department has directed the agencies to pay through accounts and provide all benefits,” she said. She added that some of the staff members had moved court seeking regularisation of services.