As many as 264 employees, including 35 contractual employees and 264 permanent or regular staff members were working with the government printing press.Leaving the employees of the UT Government Printing Press in the lurch, the UT administration is yet to adjust the 264 staff members of the printing press in any other department.
The printing press was shut down on September 30, due to technical glitches based on pay scales, seniorities and age
limits of the employees. Following the closure, the Controller of the UT Printing Press, Jagjit Singh had sent recommendations to the department of Personnel for adjusting the employees in different wings. On October 11, the department of Personnel wrote back to the controller, for reconsidering the recommendations.
Sources in the administration said that the proposal sent by the Controller of UT Printing Press, Jagjit Singh, was not accepted by the department of Personnel and it had suggested the controller to send a fresh proposal, which was more feasible.
Describing one of the many glitches, which did not allow the submergence of Government Printing Press in other departments, an officer said, “One of the recommendation was to adjust three superintendent level officers in CTU on the rank of Service Station Incharges (SSI). But the CTU Workers Union raised strong objection. Later, when procedures were checked, it came to light that the pay scale of superintendents was higher than the SSI. Whereas, three SSI posts were promotion posts.”
Another employee said, “There is no strategy. The UT administration wants us to adjust in the Chandigarh Transport Department (CTU). Senior administrative officers are working thoughtlessly. How can a technical man, who operated machines in his entire career, do the job of a CTU bus conductor?”
UT Government Printing Press controller Jagjit Singh said, “Efforts are on. We are making best efforts to adjust all 264 employees in other departments. Indeed, a communication from the department of Personnel was received. It is being reviewed. We have stopped printing the material. The binding work of printing material, which was ordered to us a long time back, is going on. Shortly, the entire work will be
winded up.”
As many as 264 employees, including 35 contractual employees and 264 permanent or regular staff members were working with the government printing press. At least 209 employees out of 264 were attached with the technical wing, while the other employees were clerical staff.
On being contacted, Printing and Stationary secretary Dr Ajay Singla said, “I will comment after going through the recent development.”
Whereas, UT Government Press Employees’ Union’s general secretary Darshan Singh Bhalla said, “We will not tolerate any injustice. Senior officers are behaving like egoists. If they want to adjust us in other departments, it should be done in a respectable manner.”