This circular was issued by DK Gayen, head of the Human Resources department for the Indian Railways. It mandated that random surprise checks be conducted by inspectors of Personnel department and the sub-departments to review and list the names of unauthorised absentees.
This process will make it easy for every department to review the attendance sheet and filter out employees, who have been benefitting from proxy marking on the muster. It also mentions that strict action is to be taken against those who go on unauthorised leaves for more than 21 days.
It will also help monitor the performance of the large scale of workers employed to maintain coach production units, workshops, and car sheds.
While the Railways are considering it a pleasant move, the railway unions have been resenting it. General secretary of the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh, Praveen Bajpai, expressed how all staff have been dispensing their duties sincerely and knew their responsibilities well.
“There is no need for anyone to monitor. Everyday railway men open ticket booking windows, loco pilots and guards run trains, gangmen maintain tracks and other employees do their work; without anyone from administration telling them. Rather the Railway administration should concentrate on filling up over 2.5 lakh vacant posts which are causing a burden on other rail employees,” he said.
For the first time, supervisors who head departments will be issuing certificates stating that an employee was present at work.
‘All employees in control of staff should give a certificate that they do not have any employee on their rolls who do not physically exist,’ states a circular issued by the Railway Board to all General Managers across Indian Railways.
Railways Cracks Down on ‘Absentee’ Employees; Hopes to Improve Services, Quality
his circular is also a jolt to the railway unions who have been playing an active role in shaping the Indian Railways. The unions at these places of work result in employees not giving the desired time and effort.
The administration will be monitoring people to see if they are skipping work to balance out time for these registered unions. In fact, recently the General Manager of Western Railway AK Gupta had made a surprise check in his own office building at Churchgate where he caught women staff from another department, chit chatting even after lunch hours.
Source: DNA India