BMC to non-essential staff: face salary cut if attendance below 50%

The local authorities till now have put 15-20 people, who may have come in contact with the patient, on home quarantine. (File photo)

BMC staff from non-essential departments will face a salary cut if their attendance is less than 50 per cent, the civic body said in a circular Wednesday.

The civic administration’s decision came after many of its staff failed to report on duty due to panic over the coronavirus pandemic as well as limited transportation options. “The civic administration had already instructed its employees, excluding those in essential services departments, that they should ensure attendance does not fall below 50 per cent. The employees should work in rotation as other work continues. However, this is not happening and in many departments, people are not reporting to work,” said an official from the General Administration Department.

He added, “Many staff involved in pre-monsoon work are also not reporting to work. This will cause another problem since monsoon will soon arrive. The city will then face other issues like water logging and potholes, as civic work in these areas is incomplete.”

There are at least one lakh employees in BMC. While essential services departments like solid waste management, drainage, hospitals and water supply staff have to report to work as per their usual routine, employees of non-essential departments are supposed to work at 50 per cent strength. However, the civic body’s move has not gone well with the employees’ union, which says forcing more staff to report to work will defeat the purpose of social distancing as well as risk their health due to limited transportation options.

“The state and central government says that except essential services, nobody should come out. But here, the civic administration is saying they should report to work. In fact, the state government is working with only 5 per cent staff, then why BMC employees should work at 50 per cent capacity. Also, there will be a big problem of transportation and food. Since they will report to work by risking their lives, they should also be given insurance like employees working in essential sectors,” said Prakash Devdas, general secretary of Mumbai Mahanagrpalika Karyaleen Karmachari Sangathna.

He added, “Since the trains are shut and BEST and MSRTC buses are the only option with limited routes, even if the workers want, most of them are unable to report to work… This is also the question of their safety.” Devdas demanded that either the circular be rolled back or the civic administration should provide separate transport, food arrangements and insurance for these employees.