There is good news for staffs of NCUI who are part of cooperative education programme. Dr Dinesh Chief Executive of NCUI has cleared their pending salaries till June,2011. “Their problem was weighing heavy on my nerves, and now I feel somewhat relieved”, said Dr Dinesh to Indiancooperative.com.
But their main problem still hangs balance.
Readers may recall that Government has stopped funding to NCUI in the wake of Lecturer scam leading to great inconvenience to staff of NCUI whose families are forced to starve. People who have nothing to do with the scam are being penalized while architects of scam are punished with mere transfer!
In a classic case of highhandedness and nepotism, the then Chief Executive Shri Bhagawati Prasad in 2005 arbitrarily converted the permanent job of field officers to contractual and threatened them to either say yes or resign.
The story begins with the Govt. of India starting the Cooperative Education Programme in 1976 with a pilot project in Madhya Pradesh. Thereafter 15 such projects were established in under developed states through out the country for strengthening of cooperative movement at grass root level.
The number of these projects grew from time to time after evaluation of the scheme by Govt. of India and 100% grant-in-aid is provided to NCUI for implementing the Special Scheme for Intensification of Cooperative Education in underdeveloped states. Presently there are 44 projects all over India having the strength of more than 202 employees.
The employees numbering 82 who were appointed earlier on regular pay scale having all the terms and conditions as that of employees working at NCUI Head Quarter such as pension, annual increments, bonus, DA, medical reimbursement, LTC, 6th Pay Commission Scales etc. These employees are also being governed by the Service Rules of NCUI.
Rest of the employees was appointed on contractual basis with consolidated salary. In 2005 the then Chief Executive of NCUI changed the terms and conditions of appointment with regard to all the 82 permanent project employees arbitrarily who were issued appointment letters with scale and other benefits by issuance of so called ‘Show Cause Notice’ changing their service conditions from regular to contractual after serving at least 20 years of service.
When they protested they were threatened with termination of service.
Dr Dinesh , the new Chief Executive has indeed to cover a long distance as the working of NCUI in past appears to be quasi private where man in power governed not by rule but by fancy. This explains massive upsurge of support for Anna in India where people have suffered for long silently.
NCUI, Central Registrar, Ministry of Agriculture have all remained silent to this injustice so far. Indian cooperative.com wants affected parties to join ranks and launch a peaceful campaign in Anna style.