Chief Secretary CJ Ponraj is not amused with the chronic absenteeism sickness of state Government employees. Truancy and absenteeism is a common ailment that the state services continue to suffer from. The malady was one of the chief points of discussions the government had during the bi-monthly meeting of administrative heads of departments and heads of departments held on January 29.
The meeting was presided over by Chief Secretary of Nagaland CJ Ponraj and Principal Secretary and Home Commissioner Pankaj Kumar.The officials deliberated on the poor attendance of employees in offices. Views were expressed regarding the issue of absenteeism. Circulars and orders in this regard, have been issued on several occasions but they had not been effective in making workers attend to their work.
Likewise, bio-metric attendance systems introduced in some directorates were also ‘not successful completely.’ The discussions revolved around implementing concrete measures and strengthening of the current system including strict enforcement of the principle of ‘No Work No Pay’ to curb the menace of absentees.
In regard to the issue, Chief Secretary C. J. Ponraj said that it was not only a day-to-day problem but was a ‘structural problem’ which needed a holistic approach and the attitude and mindsets have to be changed towards work, he added.
The chief secretary expressed a serious note of concern. He said, ‘We are to continue to struggle, habit is not easy to change and correcting image is a serious issue’. He further said that a regulating system has to be introduced and implemented in totality in which quantum services has to be delivered. The state administrator urged the heads of departments to give extra effort to bring ‘things into proper shape’ stating that one has to start somewhere. (Eastern Mirror News)