300 protesting MR employees of Agriculture Dept gherao office

300 protesting MR employees of Agriculture Dept gherao office

Pappu Mallick

GANGTOK, June 6:  300 protesting Muster Roll Employees of  the State Agriculture and Horticulture Department today gathered at Krishi Bhawan here demanding immediate action for regularization of all MR&WC employees.

A delegation under the banner of All Sikkim MR&WC Employees Association also submitted a memorandum to the department Secretary Vishal Chauhan.

“The Secretary who was on tour had promised us to meet today and we have come to repeat our same prayer of regularization,” MR&WC treasurer DB Rasaily said.

According to him, there are 73 Field Assistants and 95 VLW regular posts lying vacant in the department which is yet to be filled. “We want the department to fill the said posts by regularizing the MR workers who have been working since many years in the same post on the basis of their seniority,” he said.

The worker have also been requesting for consideration of Class XII pass in Humanities and not Science as educational criteria for the VLW post. “We want the government to conduct interview for the VLW post on 50:50 ratio but for the MR workers the educational qualification should be Class XII passed with Humanities and not Science,” one of the workers maintained.

They added that there has been no regularization of the MR workers since 1984. There are approximately 600 MR workers under Agriculture and Horticulture Department.

The workers have further requested the department to maintain transparency on the number of regular posts lying vacant in department. 

While interacting with the media later, the Secretary said the demands of the MR workers has been taken positively and would be solved as it also comes under the 100 days programme of the Chief Minister. “We will try to solve the matter within the ambit of the rules and regulations of the government,” he said.

Chauhan added that the criteria of Class XII pass with Science subject for VLW has been put so that the VLWs may have a sound knowledge on the topic.