GUWAHATI, Assam: In 103 urban local bodies (ULBs) of Assam, which employ 6,800 people, the majority of employees have been waiting for their paychecks for intervals ranging from six to 37 months. Gias Ali, General Secretary of the All Assam Civic Bodies Workers’ Federation, stated in a statement that they have six demands and that they have met with the Commissioner and Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, on September 1 to discuss their demands. They are asking for prompt release of the outstanding salaries.
Ali claimed in a statement that there were 103 ULBs in the State, 20 of which were located in 6th Schedule districts. These 103 ULBs have 6,800 employees in total. A Gazette Notification on the provincialisation of 1,653 out of the total number of municipal employees who were appointed on or before September 4, 2013, was published by the Legislative Department of the Government of Assam on May 31, 2021. According to Ali, the government promised that the remaining municipal workers would shortly undergo a phased provincialisation. “However, this has not happened yet. Moreover, although 1,653 municipal employees were provincialised as per the Gazette Notification, the remaining process work for their provincialisation has not been completed,” Ali stated.
ULB staffing patterns have been requested by the federation. The fourth Assam State Finance Commission recommended a standard staffing structure for ULBs based on population figures in 2001. The state cabinet approved the staffing structure and staff size of ULBs with their appropriate pay scales at its meeting on September 4, 2013, in accordance with Assam Services Revision of Pay (ROP) Rules, 2010. The only requirement for putting the cabinet decision into effect is notification from the government’s Urban Development Department. Based on the cabinet’s decision, the Guwahati Development Department has already announced the proposed staffing pattern for 2017.
According to Ali, three new Assam Municipal Service Cadres have been proposed by the state government for use in municipal board appointments. These are Assam Urban Engineering Service, Assam Urban Financial Service, and Assam Urban Administrative Service. He said, “We demand that the government makes provision to appoint the existing municipal employees in appropriate posts based on qualification, verification and experience without appearing in any cadre.” The federation also wants municipal employees to get pension benefits, including gratuities. In the future, they will decide how to proceed, according to Ali, during the federation’s extended executive meeting on November 6.