Unions, jobless youth up in arms against hiring of retired officials in Maharashtra | Mumbai News

Mumbai: The state engineers’ unions, associations, and educated unemployed youth organisations have opposed the state govt’s decision to allow 10% of retired officials to be posted on contract in various govt departments. The unions and organisations stated that giving priority to retired officers in govt departments is wrong, as it will create significant financial and mental injustice and cause dissatisfaction among the educated unemployed. The associations and educated unemployed youth organisations have threatened to hold protests against the govt’s decision.“The govt and ministers should provide a clear and detailed explanation in this regard within the next 15 days. Otherwise, on behalf of our organisation, the extensive list of educated unemployed in the state’s service planning office and all these serious issues will be published, and protests will be carried out,” said Maharashtra State Contractors’ Association (MSCA) president Milind Bhonsale.In a bid to regulate the ad-hoc appointment of retired officials into various govt departments and semi-govt organisations, the state govt recently issued guidelines on their contractual appointment. The number of persons to be appointed on a contract basis should be a maximum of 10% of the total sanctioned number of posts in the office/establishment.“The role of the political leadership in such decisions is not firm. It is clear that such decisions are being taken by the administration and officials. What is the benefit of the govt in giving the benefits of govt jobs to retired officers and employees instead of providing work to all the educated unemployed youth in the state? The state leaders need to clearly explain this to the people of the state; otherwise, it will not take long for dissatisfaction to arise among the educated unemployed youth in the state,” Bhonsale said.“In every district, there are an average of 16,000 to 20,000 registered educated unemployed youth, men and women, who are qualified in various fields. There are a huge number of them in the state, around 8 lakhs to 15 lakhs. The govt is aware of this. Also, it is not wrong for the parents of young people to have a sincere desire for their children to get a job before they die. Even though the govt and the state leaders have so much information, they will definitely have to pay close attention to why such an unjust decision was taken and study it in depth,” Bhonsale said.“The number of persons to be appointed on a contract basis should be a maximum of 10% of the total sanctioned number of posts in the office/establishment. While preparing the proposal for appointment on a contract basis, the nature of the work, contingency, and public interest should be taken into consideration. Appointment on a contract basis for the said work should be given for a maximum period of one year at a time. Persons appointed on a contractual basis can continue to work only up to the age of 65 years. However, the services of a person whose services are required to be continued beyond that period may be continued by the competent authority with the approval of the officer/authority immediately above him. However, in any case, persons appointed on a contractual basis can continue to work only up to the age of 70 years,” the Govt Resolution stated.