NPCIL employees flay 6th CPC report

Mumbai, Apr 7 (UNI) The scientists, engineers and technicians of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) are up in arms against their ''being equated with officers and staff in mundane government departments' by the Sixth Central Pay Commission''.

To lodge its formal protest and to demand urgent remedial measures , a delegation of the Joint Consultative Committee (Staff Side) of the NCPIL met NCPIL Chairman S K Jain here today.

Disclosing this to UNI, JCC Secretary General G P D'Cunha said, ''Mr Jain gave a hearing and assured us to take up the matter soon with Department of Atomic Energy secretary Dr Anil Kakodkar.'' ''A separate improved pay and compensation package may be developed for the atomic energy sector employees in consultation with the employees and consistent with the requirements of addressing human resource management challenges faced by the sector, especially in regard to attracting talent and retaining experienced manpower,'' the memorandum handed over by the JCC to Mr Jain said.

Mr D'Cunha said, ''In the event of the Government not conceding to the above legitimate demand, we will have no alternative but to resort to an agitation.'' ''We are under utter shock and dismay at the total neglect shown by the Pay Commission towards the atomic energy sector employees in their Report,'' Mr D'Cunha said claiming that the tasks of the NPCIL employees are far superior than that of normal government department employees.

He said that the atomic energy employees were anticipating improved pay structure from the Sixth CPC in the light of their specialised and hazardous working. ''The CPC, however, has not considered any such improvements and has equated us to officers and staff in mundane Government departments and offices,'' he lamented.

The atomic energy sector has been witnessing an exodus of talent owing to poor compensation packages which were not commensurate with the difficulties and hazards the employees have to put up with, he said.

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