Ref:
Confdn/Covid-19/2020-21 Dated – 06.07.2020
To
The Secretary, (Personnel)
Department of Personnel & Training
North Block,
New Delhi. 110 001
Dear Sir,
Sub:
- Covid 19 related problems –need for
resolution.
We invite your
kind attention to the various instructions issued by the Department of Personnel
& Training to ensure a modicum of functioning of the Government offices
during the lock- down period. Some of these instructions require extension of
its originally stipulated period and others require certain amendments in the changed scenario.
We are certain that you will appreciate the pandemic situation has
worsened over the months despite best efforts to combat the spread of the
disease. Though at the national level lock down has been eased, some parts of
the country are either declared as containment zone, red zones, or the
authorities have clamped down triple lock down in certain other areas. In the
absence of general instructions the local authorities in various departments
take decisions which normally vary from one to other and even at times they are
contradictory too. This apart, the local
authorities often refuse to listen to the genuine grievances of the employees
and their directions become incapable of adherence creating in the process
mental disturbance. On the basis of what is reported to us we make the
following suggestions for your kind consideration and issuance of appropriate
clarificatory orders.
(1)
The order dated 20th
March, 2020 empowering the local authorities to sanction commuted leave without
production of medical certificate for those who are beyond the age of 50 expired
on 4.04.2020. Since this situation has worsened in certain parts of the country
thereafter, this order requires to be extended at-least upto 31.12.2020.
(2)
The lock down declaration was,
as you are aware, sudden and came into effect immediately making it impossible
for the people to move from one place to another. Some of the employees had left for their
native villages even prior to the declaration of the lock down. Some of them were already on leave. They could not rejoin duty during the lock down
period. They were stranded. Their absence has to be regulated by grant of
special casual leave. Instructions may
be issued to grant such special casual leave for those who could not report for
duty either after the expiry of the leave, if they were on leave, or out of
station just prior to holidays. The
concerned individual may be asked to explain the circumstances under which he
could not be present at the office when he was due to be present.
(3)
The stipulation that a
percentage of the employees must be present in the office ought to have been
made applicable for those who were staying say within 1-2 kms ambit of the
office premises. Or else, arrangements for their transportation ought to have
been made by the authorities. It has
been reported to us that in some of the offices, the local authorities has
issued orders directing certain employees to be present on certain days and the
others on other days. This again is an
order, which was incapable of obeying during the lock down period .Even today in
certain areas where the covid-19 affected patients were on rise, the said areas
have been locked down. Instructions may,
therefore, kindly be caused to be issued whereby the employees residing far
away from the place where the office is located are exempted from attending office, if no public transport
system is in operation.
(4)
In order to ensure that the
citizens do not encounter any difficulties when they visit Government offices,
the front office system has been introduced in almost all field formations of
the subordinate offices. Since they are
perforce to come in contact with large number of persons visiting the concerned
offices, we suggest that instructions may kindly be issued that only
employees/officials, beyond the age of 50 are posted to man those front offices.
(5)
The instruction to the effect that
officials who have children of less than 5 years of age might work from home,
appears to have been withdrawn. This may be restored as children are
prone to virus infection much more faster than elderly persons.
We request comprehensive instructions covering the above suggestions
my please be caused to be issued as early as possible.
Thanking you,
Yours
faithfully,
R. N.
Parasar
Secretary
General
