PANAJI
Goa government has decided to recruit 100 percent of its employees through Staff Selection Commission (SSC) while also warning to ‘compulsory retire’ the non-performing staff.
Addressing a packed Mega Job Fair at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant emphasized that no politicians or legislators’ interference should be sought by a job seeker for recruitment.
“It’s a wrong concept to go to politicians and MLAs seeking government jobs. We will implement 100 percent recruitment through Staff Selection Commission (SSC) competitive exams henceforth to ensure that best performers are selected,” he said.
Sawant’s statement comes amid controversy that vacancies in government departments are rigged, after alleged scam in Goa Police, Public Works Department and Health Services courted a huge controversy with Opposition and activists demanding scrapping of the posts.
While the government has maintained a stoic silence on the alleged scam around police sub inspectors’ recruitment, it assured the High Court of Bombay at Goa about scrapping posts in the other two departments.
Sawant further stated that experience of one to two years will be made mandatory for jobs in the government sector, and Recruitment Rules – that remained unchanged for three decades - will be amended to this effect. At the same time, he reiterated that non-performing employees across all ranks will be compulsorily retired. “Government jobs will have to be taken seriously, else we are ready with enforcing Compulsory Retirement,” he said.
Applauding an overwhelming response to the job fair, CM also claimed that Goan youth are switching their mindset to looking for options in the private sector rather than chasing government jobs.
“Government of India’s ordinance on the continuity in scale in private sectors even while switching jobs or joining work after a break will be implemented by the State government in toto. We are looking at providing many more such facilities to those working in the private sector. Measures such as improvement in wages, housing loans, etc are on cards,” he said.
The government, Sawant further said, is contemplating reserving 2 percent of jobs in Police, Fire Services, and Forest Departments for those employed under the Goa Human Resource Corporation (GHRC).
“There was a time when Security (Guards) and Housekeeping (staff) in Goa were from other states or Nepal and Bhutan. When our government started the Goa Human Resource Corporation (GHRC), we trained Goan candidates, and offered them certificate courses, facilities and job security although less salary. Today, we have 8,000 Goans employed under GHRC and we are planning to reserve at least 2 percent of jobs for them in the three government departments,” he said, adding that the government will also commence correspondence courses to upgrade skills of GHRC candidates. Sawant further said that a similar job fair will be held in South Goa at Margao soon.
