Raising the retirement age to 58 part of the proposal
The State government is gearing up to switch over to five-day week in State service, with it actively considering a proposal to introduce the shortened working week for its employees soon. The working hours of government offices will as a consequence change to 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Official sources told The Hindu here on Thursday that along with these was a proposal to change the leave pattern.
Considering the increase in the number of holidays with a day cut from the working week, the proposal is to reduce the number of casual leaves an employee is eligible for from the current 20 days a year to 12. Another suggestion is to reduce the number of leaves that an employee can surrender to the government from 30 days a year to 20.
A proposal for raising the retirement age from the present 56 to 58 is reportedly included in the proposal, which is expected to come up before the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Already, the Health Department is understood to have issued a circular saying that doctors who are due to retire anytime during the five months up to March 31, 2013 will continue in service till that date. The decision is reported to have been made considering the shortage of doctors in government health service.
Considering the financial burden the government has to bear to meet the post-retirement benefits of employees, extension of the retirement age has been proposed.
The five-day week proposal is expected to help the government cut down on the bills on power, transport and such other expenses. While considering the proposal, the government will have to see if it will help enhance the efficiency of the services being offered to the public by various departments. The government will have to ensure that the employees reach the offices at the right time and stay all through the working hours.
The proposal is likely to figure before the Cabinet soon, sources said.
Working hours will be 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Staff may get only 12 casual leaves a year
