Assam school office assistants seek CM intervention on SLRC pay gap
The Assam Secondary School Office Assistant Employees’ Association raises concerns over pay disparities between SLRC 2022 recruits and earlier Junior Assistants
A file image of CM Sarma. (Photo:@himantabiswa/x)
Dibrugarh, Dec 10: The Assam Secondary School Office Assistant (Graduate) Employees’ Association has raised serious concerns over what it describes as a persistent and unjust grade pay anomaly affecting the Junior Assistants (JAs) serving in secondary schools across the State.
In a formal representation, the Association highlighted significant pay disparities between the employees appointed through the State Level Recruitment Commission (SLRC) Class-III examination of 2022 and their counterparts appointed prior to the SLRC process.
According to the Association, Junior Assistants, recruited through the 2022 SLRC examination, who joined the services following appointment orders dated May 25, 2023, have been placed in the pay scale of Rs 14,000-70,000 with a grade pay of Rs 5,600, as per the Pay Band-2 of the ROP Rules 2017, notified on March 17, 2017.
However, an amendment under Notification No. FPC.18/2017/26, issued by the Finance (PRU) department on August 25, 2017 and published on September 29, 2018, enhanced the grade pay for ministerial staff in district and sub-district establishments, including provincialized and government school offices.
Following this, the Directorate of Secondary Education (DSE) issued instructions on March 25, 2021, directing all Inspectors of Schools to implement the revised grade pay. Consequently, Junior Assistants appointed prior to the SLRC recruitment are currently drawing a higher grade pay of Rs 6,200, while Senior Assistants receive Rs 8,000.
The newly appointed SLRC recruits, however, continue to receive the lower grade pay of Rs 5,600, creating a dual salary structure for the same post, despite identical responsibilities and qualifications.
The Association has argued that this disparity is “irrational, unjustified, and a clear violation of the principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work.”
In a statement, the Association’s president, Rajjyoti Gogoi and secretary, Nupur Choudhury, pointed out that the discrepancy has been creating major administrative hurdles.
“Employees attempting mutual transfers via the Swagatam Portal are reportedly unable to complete the process due to mismatched grade pay entries, some showing Rs 5,600 while others reflect Rs 6,200 for the same cadre. This mismatch, they claim, has left many eligible employees stranded and unable to exercise their transfer rights,” they mentioned.
Adding to their concerns, they further stated that the recruitment for these posts was explicitly conducted for graduate-level candidates with mandatory computer diploma qualifications, as per Advertisement No. SLRC-G-III/Advertisement/2022/1/3 and SLRC-G-III/6/Advertisement/2022/44.
Citing the Assam Secondary Education (Provincialised Schools) Service Rules 2019, Schedule III, Rule 10, they have stressed that the current grade pay does not align with the educational requirements and responsibilities expected of the post. The impact is lowering the morale among Junior Assistants who feel unfairly treated, it added.
The Association has sought the intervention of the Chief Minister, the Education Minister, the Department of Secondary Education, and the Finance department, immediately and rectify the anomaly by ensuring a grade pay parity for all Junior Assistants in secondary schools, irrespective of recruitment year.