21 Oct : The general body of the Faculty Association of PGIMER, Chandigarh met on 19th and 20th October 2010 to discuss the issues of non-implementation of recommendations of the the 6th CPC. The two main issues were:
1. The recent order from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) regarding implementation of revised scheme of promotion for faculty of PGI w.e.f 12.01.2010, instead of 01.01.2006, as provided for in the 6th CPC order.
2. Non-implementation of the 6th CPC recommendation that all allowances be paid with effect from 1st September 2008.
The 6th CPC had recommended better pay scales and earlier promotions at each level to be implemented w.e.f 1st January 2006, to prevent stagnation and exodus of faculty from the institute and to retain excellence in healthcare and medical education. The faculty members of the institute are very much agitated on the recent orders of the MOHFW regarding implementation of revised scheme of promotion w.e.f 12.01.2010 and not 1.1.2006. The previous orders from the MOHFW clearly state that the promotions for the PGI faculty should be implemented from 1st January 2006. However, the subsequent order has caused a lot of confusion and resentment amongst the faculty, which could be detrimental for the institute as many faculty members in the past have left the institute because of lack of career promotions. The Supreme Court has already ruled that governments at the Centre and states should “act as model employers” and that all eligible employees virtually had a “fundamental right” to promotion as guaranteed under Article 16 of the Constitution. In the same vein, this delay in notification of the promotion order has been from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and is not the fault of the faculty, and hence the orders should be implemented in retrospect.
The 6th CPC order also clearly mentioned that all allowances be implemented w.e.f 1st September 2008. However the PGI faculty has been reliably informed that the academic allowance for the faculty would be implemented only from 2010. The denial of academic allowance for two years will compound the financial loss already incurred by the PGI faculty for no fault of their own, and purely because of the administrative delay in notification of the order. The recommendation of allowances by the 6th CPC was notified for the entire country w.e.f 1st September 2008. The order for PGI should have been implemented in September 2008 itself, however due to the red tapism of the MOHFW and the slow functioning of the PGI administration, the notification of this order has been delayed for more than two years. Hence, this delay has been from the MOHFW with no fault of the faculty. Despite the increase in salaries after the 6th CPC, the salaries in PGI remain grossly inadequate compared to remunerations in any international university or even private sector in our own country.
The denial of timely promotions promised in the 6th CPC recommendations, compounded by financial losses due to administrative delay are major factors resulting in the continuing exodus of talented and experienced faculty members of PGI to the private sector and to foreign universities. This is detrimental both to quality healthcare in this region as well as medical teaching and research in the country.
The general body of the Faculty Association of PGIMER, at the meetings on 19th and 20th October 2010, therefore passed the following resolutions to express their anguish and protest against the non-implementation of the 6th CPC recommendations. These resolutions were subsequently passed unanimously by ten members of the executive council (the remaining member is abroad) at the PGI Faculty Association Executive Council meeting held on 21st October 2010.
1. All members of the PGI faculty will wear black badges at work from 25th October 2010 onwards.
2. The PGI faculty will observe a “Black Diwali” this year. Consequently the PGI faculty will not celebrate Diwali at the PGI club.
3. The faculty will boycott all official functions of the institute.
4. The agitation may be escalated further in future.