Politicos harass outsourcing staff?

Ongole: The announcement of YSRCP government to regularise the temporary staff has raised hopes among many workers until the local leaders hatched a plan to utilise the opportunity.

The politicos are harassing the existing staff to replace them with their party workers. According to Ramakrishna, a computer operator in a panchayat office in Prakasam district, (name changed on request), said "One can survive even if the MLA or MP threatens directly, but when the local leader warns, we should take a decision to survive there or leave the village."

He is said to be being harassed by a local YSRCP leader to resign from the job so that a party worker would join it.

After the YSRCP formed the government in the State, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to regularise the contract and outsourcing workers depending on the availability and requirement. All these workers like computer operators, midday meal workers, Asha workers and sanitation workers are directly controlled by the village-level and panchayat-level officials, who are being influenced by the local ruling party leaders.

The local leaders are directly or indirectly mounting pressure on the workers to resign themselves from the jobs, facilitating the officers to appoint their party workers in the vacancy as per the guidelines of government.

CPM East Prakasam district unit secretary Punati Anjaneyulu said more than 20 midday meal workers are being haunted by the local leaders in Ponnalur mandal of Kandukur constituency and various places in Kondapi constituency, to resign from work immediately or prepare to face non-cooperation in the village.

Similar incidents are reported in Kothapatnam, Pamur, Parchur, Podili mandals, where the computer operators in panchayat offices are being forced by local leaders to resign from their jobs. The leaders are already identified new workers for the posts for immediate joining, once the mandal development officer issues notification. These computer operators got their salary enhanced from Rs 9,000 to Rs 15,000 just a couple of months ago after five years of service and a lot of negotiations with the higher officials.

The Anganwadi helpers and Asha workers are also being harassed by the local leaders, said Anjaneyulu. He said they were influencing the officials to remove them from work if they do not resign by themselves. He demanded the officials to consider their performance and ability, but not remove them due to political pressures.

DRO V Venkatasubbaiah, the in-charge DPO, said that he didn't receive any complaint about the pressure from local leaders from anyone. If he came to know that someone is appointed by the forced resignation of another worker, Venkatasubbaiah said that he will initiate action as per the rules stipulated by the government.

Responding to the political pressure, Ramakrishna, the computer operator, who decided to quit the job, said that the warnings of MLAs or MPs need not be taken much seriously as they look for the work to be done and will have no personal grudge on the worker, but in villages, the angry leaders know every detail of his family and capable of doing anything.