SNEA(I)/CHQ/ GM(E)/2012-14/02 Dated 27th January, 2014.
To
Sh. R. K. Goyal,
GM (Estt), BSNLCO,
New Delhi.
Sub:
Comments/suggestions on draft JTO RR 2014 reg:
Ref:
No 5-32/2013-Pers-IV dated 17th January 2014.
Kindly refer letter under reference circulating
the draft JTO RR 2014 for our comments.
Through proposed amendment, one of the major issues regarding
regularization of screening test qualified and JTO Phase I trained officials is
addressed as demanded by the Association long back. However, comments/suggestions
by this Association on different provisions of the draft JTO RR 2014 and some
of the important provisions to be incorporated to protect the seniority of the
existing JTOs, seniority of the JTOs to be recruited as per the new RR, their
recruitment year, educational qualifications etc are submitted as follows:
A. Schedule
4.
Pay scale:
In the draft RR, the pay scale is proposed to
be scaled down arbitrarily to E1 whereas the pre-revised pay scale of JTO cadre
was E1A. As per DPE guidelines this intermediary E1A pay scale has to be
replaced by standard pay scale. Whereas all other CPSUs having intermediary pay
scales have moved over to next higher IDA scale in accordance to DPE
guidelines, BSNL is adopting a thoroughly retrograde attitude by demoting the
cadre of JTO whose strategic importance and critical role in overall growth and
development of telecom services in erstwhile DOT has been widely acclaimed by premier
manpower consultant National Productivity Council(NPC) and another high power
SM Aggarwal Committee. It would be extremely pertinent for BSNL Management to
get apprised of what NPC has mentioned about the strategic importance of the
JTO cadre in its report after extensively studying and meticulously evaluating
the role that this cadre has played in the growth of telecom in DOT,
particularly in areas of high technology, in both switching and transmission.
The report provides valuables insight into the vital functions of this cadre
and would be an eye opener for BSNL Management, provided it is interested in
acknowledging the exemplary role of this cadre.
Over a period of time, particularly after
transition of DOT to BSNL, with incredibly vast and rapid technological changes
taking place in the field of telecom, particularly with the advent of wireless
telecom services (GSM), this critical role of JTO cadre in BSNL not only got
reinforced but assumed strategic importance of extraordinary nature. It is of
course a different matter that BSNL Management, completely lacking
professionalism to deal with and exploit potential Human Resources and thus harness
and channelize their energies and potential for growth of the Company, has
been, on the contrary, trying its best to demotivate and demoralize this cadre.
Proposing E1 pay scale thus in the draft RRs is nothing but a manifestation and
reflection of unprofessional and perverse thinking of the BSNL management. If
management has any genuine seriousness and concern about future growth of the
Company, it should immediately give up its narrow considerations and wide open
its eyes to see the reality and the hard reality is to preserve and further
strengthen the huge strategic importance of this cadre. The first step towards reinforcing the confidence and morale of this
cadre is to straightaway extend it the standard E2 pay scale recommended by DPE
and approved by Govt.
B. 10.
Initial constitution:
The draft RR is silent about the candidates having
passed the LICE held on 02.06.2013 and undergoing training or to be sent for
training and waiting for appointment. All of them should become part of the
initial constitution to protect their appointment and seniority. In other words “all the officials appointed
as JTO(T) on regular basis or under the process of recruitment/appointment at
various stages as per JTO RR 2001 shall be deemed to have been appointed under
these rules on regular basis with effect from the date of their appointment to
the posts”.
C. Schedule
7. Educational and other qualification for Direct Recruits:
M Tech (Electronics), M Tech (Information Technology),
M Tech (Software Engineering), M Sc (Information Technology), M Sc
(Instrumentation), M Sc (Physics with Electronics as specialization), M Sc
(Software engineering) also shall be added. The Direct recruitment can be on the basis of GATE score.
D. Schedule
11.
There can be candidates who are not
officiating now after completion of phase I training. So it may be modified as
“By absorption of screening test
qualified and JTO Phase I trained officials”.
a)
By
insisting pay scale of 13600-25420, non-executives in TTA cadre only will be
eligible to appear in the LICE. Since separate quota is not maintained for Sr
TOA and other cadres for promotion to JTO cadre, the condition of pay scale may be accordingly modified to make other
non –executives having the requisite educational qualifications also eligible to
appear in the LICE.
b)
Qualifying service or
residency period should be reduced from 7 to 5 years. As per the BSNLCO letter dated 21.12.2009,
the last LICE was notified in 2010 and this issue has been discussed with the
BSNL Management and Management in principle agreed to consider the proposal to reduce
the residency period from 7 years to 5 years in the next JTO recruitment
through LICE. This will provide opportunity to younger generation to compete
and get into the cadre of JTO.
c)
B Sc (Information
Technology) and B SC (Software Engineering) also may be added as educational
qualification for Intl candidates to appear in the LICE. Similarly many candidates
were appointed as TTAs in 2001-2003 with different courses like power electronics, electronics production,
Computer hardware, industrial
electronics, instrumentation & control, E&E, ET&T etc all over
India, by considering their equivalent Certificates. Promotional avenues
/eligibility of these candidates for appearing in the LICE also may be
ascertained and incorporated in the proposed RR.
E. The
draft RR is silent on the following issues:
a) The draft RR is
silent about the seniority of the candidates having passed the LICE held on
02.06.2013 and undergoing training or to be sent for training with reference to
the JTOs going to be recruited as per the new RR, in case the JTOs through LICE
held on 02.06.13 are joining after the joining of JTOs recruited as per new RR
2014. This may happen as the results of LICE held by some Circles are not yet
published due to court cases and it can be further delayed. The seniority of the JTOs recruited or
under process of recruitment as per JTO RR 2001 should be protected, ie. “JTOs
appointed or under process of recruitment as per JTO RR 2001 should be enbloc
senior to those who are recruited by the new JTO RR 2014”.
b)
Fixation
of inter-se seniority between internal candidates promoted through LICE and
Direct rects in a particular recruitment year is not specified in the draft RR.
It is suggested that
“the seniority be fixed in the ratio 1:1 in a particular recruitment year starting
with promoted officer” as in the case of other RRs.
c)
Seniority among
officiating JTOs going to be regularized by absorption. It is mentioned in
the draft RR that seniority of the future recruits shall be decided on the
basis of marks/merit obtained in the respective examination, ie LICE/Direct
rect examination. However remaining officiating JTOs are not going to appear in
future LICEs. So method of fixation of seniority among officiating JTOs should
be clearly spelt out in the proposed RR, ie whether their rank/seniority in the
feeder cadre or training centre marks exclusively for them (as a onetime
measure) will decide their inter-se seniority.
d) Seniority between the JTOs recruited through LICE and
recruited through absorption against 50% internal quota for the first rect year:
The
draft RR is silent on this important issue. The seniority between these two
streams should be clearly mentioned in the RR to avoid litigations in the
future between these two streams.
e) Recruitment year for JTO recruitment: In the JTO RR
2001, recruitment year is not mentioned. As a result, the recruitment year will
be decided based on DoP&T OM dated 03.03.2008. The DoP&T OM dated
03.03.2008 is going to raise serious issues for the JTO cadre for the
recruitment held in the year 2013. Almost in all the Circles, the LICE was held
on the same date 02.06.2013. But the declaration of results, pre-appointment
training and appointment etc vary from Circle to Circle. In some Circles, the
appointment will be done before 31.03.2014, so all the JTOs will get the
recruitment year of 2013-14. But in some other Circles, the training will be
completed only after 31.03.2014 and their recruitment year will be 2014-15. So for the same recruitment process and
LICE held on the same date, the seniority of the JTOs varies from Circle to
Circle, for some Circles it will be 2013-14 and for others it will be 2014-15.
Secondly, if the LICE is not held every year, then the eligible candidates will
lose their seniority and service also. These twin issues have to be addressed
in the new RR. For that purpose, recruitment
has to be done every year and vacancy year or year of notification of rect
should become the recruitment year for all the officials irrespective of their date
of joining. This provision should be incorporated in the RR.
With kind regards,
Sincerely Yours,
(K. Sebastin)
We convey our sincere
Thanks to Sri Sebastian GS SNEA India for the efforts made towards our Regularization
issue.
