Central Secretariat staff plan multiple protests over 'delay in promotions'

In a bid to mount pressure on the Centre, scores of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers held a protest in Delhi on Monday over the delay in submission of a report by a cadre review committee, which has allegedly hampered their promotions.

A delegation of the CSS Forum - representing the officers - also submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) over the issue.

The group plans to hold more protests on March 7 at Shastri Bhawan, on March 11 at Nirman Bhawan and on March 13 at North Block in Delhi's Central Secretariat to attract the Centre's attention to the review report.

Why are CSS officers protesting?

The group said that the Centre had formed a review committee in October 2022 over the issues related to the management of the central secretariat. The committee deliberated on aspects such as the rising demand for manpower across departments and ministries in view of the rising demand for government schemes and projects.

"As per information available with us, the deliberations of the committee have been completed long ago. However, the matter is still pending with the Centre," said the letter by Ashutosh Misra, general secretary of the CSS Forum.

Further, it has also been decided that "if the government does not wake up from its deep slumber on the cadre review matter, a full-fledged non-cooperation movement will be started", the letter said.

The group alleged that due to the delay in submission of the report of the cadre review committee, various departments are facing a shortage of manpower, resulting in disruption to work-related matters.

"Officers eligible for promotion are retiring every month without getting promotion due to inadequate posts and suffering financial losses in the pension", the letter said.

Railway unions threaten protest

Notably, last week, the railway union also threatened to hold protests from May 1 over pension-related demands. The group demanded reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The proposed protest is being organised under the ambit of the Joint Forum For Restoration of Old Pension Scheme (JFROPS).

As per an official press release, the group also plans to serve a notice to the Ministry of Railways on March 19.

The OPS offered to cover pensions for eligible government employees, usually amounting to 50 per cent of their last drawn salary. The government entirely bore this cost. The scheme was replaced by a newer model in 2004, in which the employees can participate and contribute to their pension fund from their salaries while availing a matching pension contribution from the government.

(With inputs from PTI)