Non-gazetted staff in five new GMCs without promotions as rules remain unframed

Srinagar, Aug 10: The non-gazetted employees of five new Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in Jammu and Kashmir are in a dilemma, as the government is yet to frame service recruitment rules, stalling promotions, leaving salaries unchanged, and morale low.The non-gazetted employees of the new GMCs of Anantnag, Baramulla, Rajouri, Doda, and Kathua have been demanding the formulation of service recruitment rules, a demand pending for the last six years, leaving the employees discouraged.A delegation of non-gazetted employees said 3,375 posts for five new GMCs were created by cabinet decision and subsequently vide order no 575-HME-2017 dated 23/10/2017.“In this regard, an executive order for one-time recruitment was issued by JKHME for the indent of the said posts to JKSSB vide no:133-JKHME-2018 dated: 19-02-2018,” it said.However, the employees, who were appointed through the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) when five new GMCs were established in the Union Territory, expressed deep concern over the prolonged delay in the framing of recruitment rules.Khursheed Ahmad, a junior photographer at GMC Baramulla, said he had earlier left a multimedia producer job in Delhi. He has not been promoted in the past six years. “When I joined GMC Baramulla, I was confident my promotion would come in due course, just like employees at GMC Srinagar. Now, I see a bleak future. It is an injustice to the employees,” he said.Ahmad is among hundreds of GMC employees unhappy over the delay. Many have even quit due to the lack of promotions and stagnant salaries, further aggravating the existing staff shortages in the colleges.Pertinently, several committees were framed by J&KHME for actual pay scales and finalisation of recruitment rules, but to date, no action in this regard has been taken.All five new medical colleges have been sending representations to the Health and Medical Education Department, but no action has been taken so far, leaving employees frustrated.“Several representations were also submitted by the employees through official mediums, but unfortunately, nothing fruitful has emerged so far,” the employees said.These employees have not received a single promotion due to the absence of recruitment rules, despite being eligible, and their cases cannot be processed.They are urging the government to adopt rules similar to those of GMC Srinagar and GMC Jammu to ensure fairness and provide career growth opportunities.The employees have warned that if no action is taken, they will launch a full-fledged strike from August 20 across all the new GMCs.Notably, on August 09, the non-gazetted employees of GMC Baramulla held a peaceful protest and demanded the framing of the service recruitment rules.However, a senior official of the Health and Medical Education Department, J&K, said the department has been working for the past one year to draft and finalise the Service Recruitment Rules.“The process is already complete, and we will be putting the rules in the public domain within a week for feedback, comments, and other necessary formalities,” he said.