Chandigarh, April 5: As a part of the ongoing restructuring exercise in the Punjab School Education Board, services of 87 daily wagers were terminated recently following a decision by the Board of Directors.
Given one month’s notice under Section 25 of the Industrial Disputes Act, the affected employees have been assured that they will be given all their due service benefits as per the department rules, an official communication reads.The board has already decided to abolish 748 posts of regular employees.
These will not be filled after the current officials retire.The services of at least 500 daily wagers were in the line of board’s fire after the original decision. Cases of at least 400 daily wagers are pending in the courts, so the department did not touch them. The remaining are being ordered to leave their services.
An affected employee said, “Our only shortcoming was that we had not approached the court earlier, thinking that our services will be regularised as the board is short of staff.
There are some among us considering moving the court now.”Speaking on the issue, president of the PSEB Employees Association Parvinder Singh Khangura, said, “We have been communicated that services of these 87 daily wagers were terminated as a part of the bigger restructuring under which posts are being eliminated.
As certain posts are being eliminated, the related work at the junior level will also end. Definitely, more people will be shown the door shortly”.Khangura said, “Against the present assumptions, the actual work of the board has not decreased. We have been demanding filling of the vacant posts because of which daily wagers were employed. In the first place, daily wagers with more than 10 years of experience in their fields should be regularised”.
Source Tribune India
