Staff to skip offices again - Circular nixes GTA salary hope

TT, Calcutta, Sept. 15: Employees of the GTA today decided not to report for work from tomorrow as a circular issued by the state government says its staff in the hills will have to repay the advance payment promised to them in 10 monthly installments.

Around 70 per cent of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration staff had rejoined their duties yesterday after 90 days of absence because of the ongoing indefinite strike.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said in Siliguri on September 12 that those who rejoined work would be given a month's advance.

"Many GTA employees in the hills had construed the chief minister's statement as a promise of salaries for the three months they stayed away from work, besides the payment of a month's advance if they rejoined offices before September 15," said a leader of the Janmukti Asthai Karmachari Sangathan, the organisation of GTA employees which is allegiant to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

A senior Nabanna official said every state government employee got a token amount (between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500) as festival advance before the pujas and the advance payment of a month's salary for the staff in the hills was just like that. "An advance payment is always adjusted against the salaries of the employees," he added.

The order dated September 13 and issued by H.K. Dwivedi, the principal secretary of state finance department, states the advance payment for the hill employees "will be recovered in 10 equal monthly installments starting from November, 2017".

As the circular came to the GTA staff's notice, they decided to skip work from tomorrow. "We have decided not to attend work from tomorrow as we will only be getting an advance which we have to repay to the government in 10 months, starting from November. We thought we would be given the advance salary of a month, besides three months' salaries," said the leader of the Sangathan.

A finance department official said in Calcutta that the government had issued an order before the indefinite strike called by the Morcha had begun in June, warning the employees that absence from duty would result in the deduction of their salaries.

"Till the middle of September, majority of the employees did not attend office. So, there is no question of giving salary to the employees who remained absent during the period," said the official.