Significant cuts in salary, coupled with the burden of returning large sums of arrears to the institution, are in store for almost 100 non-teaching staff members of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) here. The staffers recently received the August 21 order decreasing their salaries.
The GGSIPU Joint Registrar refused to comment saying he was not dealing with the matter. Vice-Chancellor Anil Tyagi could not be reached for a comment.
In 2016, the university had implemented orders numbers 57 and 58, dated 2015, of the Delhi government upgrading the grade pay of non-teaching staff with effect from 2006 through a process of internal approvals. However, it has now decided to reverse the hike and has asked the staff to reimburse the arrears. Order number 57 pertains to upgrade of grade pay from ₹4,200 to ₹ 4,600, while order number 58 is related to upgrading of grade pay from ₹2,400 to ₹4,200.
“The decrease will amount to almost ₹17,000-₹18,000 per month. We will also have to return arrears we got from 2006, which may amount to as much as ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh,” an employee whose salary is headed for downward revision told The Hindu .
Another employee said the August 21 order has created an unforeseen crisis for them as many have already invested the arrears.
“We do not have that money in cash any longer. If they cut it from our salaries for years, we will constantly face a financial crunch,” the employee added.
Affected employees have written to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the GGSIPU V-C and the member-secretary of the university’s board of management seeking reversal of the salary cut.
The State government had clarified that orders number 57 and 58 were only for direct employees of the government but had permitted autonomous institutions to implement these in consultation with their finance departments.
GGSIPU had formed an internal committee to examine the orders. The committee’s recommendation was placed and approved by the finance committee, following which it was passed by the board of management. The order was implemented by the university after that.
“However, reversal of the hike bypassed this process,” complained an affected employee.
