Newsletter

AUPO letter on Draft Recruitment Regulations (30.4.2005)

The Draft Recruitment Regulations for Prasar Bharati Programme Cadre were discussed on 30 April 2005 in a meeting chaired by CEO Prasar Bharati at Akashvani Bhavan. The meeting was attended by representatives of all Associations.

In the discussion today AUPO today registered its preliminary objections that the draft Regulations shows that the inputs provided by AUPO have been ignored and the fabric of the existing service has been distorted through lateral entry, tinkering with the quota rule etc.

The changes proposed to be made would be detrimental to the interests of the existing imcumbents - specifically those who are from the Programme Executive cadre or are in existing JTS and STS cadres. Major benefits accrued to the Pexs through Court Cases etc have been diluted through the Draft Rules. There are also no financial benefits. The intermediary scale of 8000 continues for PEXS - while Announcers and News Readers who have also been brought into the service move directly from 6500 to 10000.

The Rules also permit the induction of outsiders laterally at higher posts.

Since the draft rules were handed over to Associations only late on 28th April evening, asociations have been given a week to respond in writing.

A copy of the letter submitted by AUPO is given below:

Sub: Draft Recruitment Regulations for Prasar Bharati Programme Cadre Posts

Dt: 30 April 2005

Sir,

This has reference to your communication No: DDG(P)/RR/2005 dt. 28 April 2005 on the subject cited above and was handed over to this Association late in the evening on the same day. Since the meeting to discuss these Rules has been called today i.e., 30^th April, it has given us practically no time to study the Draft Recruitment Regulations in detail nor to seek necessary legal advice on the same.

However, even a preliminary reading of the Draft Regulations reveal interpolations and anomalies which if implemented would affect the very fabric and quality of the Programme Service and Programme Cadre and also give rise to litigation.

While, a detailed response can be submitted shortly, we would like to point out a few examples which are merely illustrative.

Service conditions, Recruitment Regulations, Pay Scales etc. applicable in a Corporation are always of a higher grade than that in the Government.

However, the opportunities for the Programme Service are clearly inferior to existing posts in the Government drawing comparable scales. In the present Draft Regulations, the base level post Assistant Manager/Asst. Programme Executive (i.e., present Transmission Executive) requires no less than 3 promotions before he reaches the scale of 10,000. He thus needs to move from the scale of 6500 to

7500
8000
and finally to 10,000

In comparison, in Government posts such as Stenographers, Section Officers, Librarians etc., the incumbents move from the level of 6500 directly to 10,000. The Draft Regulations thus create a situation where a programme staff recruited with qualifications of a degree, broadcasting experience, voice suitable for broadcasting etc will in reality hardly ever reach the 10,000 scale or even the 8000 scale.

Similarly, the pivotal cadre of Programme Executives (75 % of whom have been recruited by the UPSC with minimum postgraduate qualifications) also are required to have two elevations to reach the 10,000 scale.

In other words, Public Service Broadcasting is clearly made an inferior career option to Stenography or Librarianship. This has been at the root of the crisis in the existing set-up and the new draft regulations propose to continue the worst of the existing Regulations while making fresh interpolations which will contribute to destroy even the fabric of the existing programme cadre.

This Association has earlier clearly pointed out the need to dispense with the intermediary scale stages, and upgrade the scale of existing Programme Executives to the grade of 8000 and merge all present posts in the 8000 scale with the next higher grade of 10,000.

This is an absolute requirement and will help to sort out the existing situation where Stations round the country are being headed by the Programme Executives in the absence of sufficient officers in the 10,000 grade.

The qualification of the Programme Executive which is the pivotal cadre responsible for conceptualizing, planning and production of all programmes and their related managerial tasks has been unnecessarily reduced to graduation from the existing postgraduation with specialisation in specific areas prescribed by the UPSC. This downgrading of qualification will reflect in the quality of programme production.
Lateral entry, "Limited Departmental Selection" , Direct Recruitment at higher level posts (Manager etc), methods prescribed for Direct recruitment at lower posts etc are questionable and are matters for great concern.
Provision of Induction of other cadres into Announcers, Newsreaders-cum-Translators etc. into Prog. Cadre.
Quota for promotion between regular programme cadre and staff artists prescribed in the existing rules have been done away with .
Subordinate cadres (News Readers and Translators, and Announcers etc) are also skipping intermediary scale and going directly from 6500 to 10,000 scale.
In the exiting IB(P)S there are 4 streams, but the Draft Regulations are silent on their future status and integration.
Recruitment Rules have to be read in the context of the Service Conditions and cannot be discussed in isolation.
All the points mentioned above are merely illustrative and do not in any way reflect the various lacunae in the rules.

Under the circumstances, it is not clear as to why any member of the Programme Staff of AIR & DD should desire to move from the status and security of Government Service and join a Corporation where the service conditions are evidently inferior.

(Dr.Sajjad Rizvi)

Convenor

AUPO

JTS promotion stalled!

After returning the PEX to JTS promotion file with a series of queries, it is understood that the Minister has retained the file for reasons as yet unstated. In spite of repeated pleas from our Association, colleagues and the CEO himself, the Ministry is showing great reluctance to clear the file. The official position seems to be that it is no longer feasible to fill up the posts on promotion, and that Direct Recruitment to JTS posts is urgently required. The Ministry is silent on how such direct recruitments can be made in the absence of either a Recruitment Board or Recruitment Rules.

Many rumours are circulating regarding promotions from PEX to JTS and the likely number of promotees. As per IB(P)S, only 50% of the vacancies will be filled through promotion, the rest being kept aside for Direct Recruitment. There are approximately 140 vacancies in JTS (Management) and as such, 50% (i.e., about 70 PEXs) were likely to be considered for ad-hoc promotion. It now appears that even this number may be highly optimistic, since DR posts have been filled by ad-hoc promotions for a long time now. The actually number of promotion posts available may be far less. The Ministry seems determined that DR posts should be kept aside at all costs.

Though PEXs have always been eligible for JTS (Production) posts as per IB(P)S rules, the Department has not considered the PEXs, leaving nearly a hundred posts vacant. AUPO has filed the IBP(S) Case (click link for details) staking our claim for JTS (Production) since 1990. We do not agree with the PSA stance that PEXs are not eligible for JTS (Production).

ACP for PEXs: The Hon'ble CAT, Principal Bench, New Delhi has ordered the grant of financial upgradations through ACP to Programme Executives of AIR & DD. In their Order in OA No: 2293/2002, MA 1921/01 (PSA & others Vs. UOI) dt. 5.12.2002, the Hon'ble CAT said: "...we find merit and substance in the OA which is allowed. The respondents are directed to hold a meeting of the Screening Committte to consider the claim of the applicants for the grant of first and second financial upgradations in accordance with the ACP scheme expeditiously and in any event within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. We direct accordingly. We further direct that after the Screening Committee has cleared the cases of the applicants, necessary orders placing them in the higher pay grades will be issued within a period of 15 days after the meeting of the Screening Committee."

We are now told that the Ministry of I&B is going for appeal. It looks like we have a long fight ahead of us - 15 May 2003

New Transfer Policy for Programme Staff: This NEWSLETTER had earlier reported that the AIR & DD transfer policy regarding Programme Staff came under the scrutiny of the Prasar Bharati Board in its meeting on 15 Nov 2002. The Board was deeply concerned about the arbitrary way in which Programme Officers were being posted/transferred outside their language zones and in positions where their fields of specialization were not taken into account.

It is now understood that the transfer policy is being further reviewed, given the difficulty of posting programme staff to difficult and remote stations. While the deliberations of the Management Committee and Prasar Bharati Board are hush-hush, it is understood that the CEO is taking a sympathetic and pro-staff approach in the matter.

The new Transfer Policy has also been caught up in administrative wrangling. Given the number of transfer cases in Court, it may be a while before Prasar Bharati comes up with an acceptable policy that will solve the staffing problem. Don't hold your breath! - 15 May 2003.

As soon as the Spring 2003 issue of the AUPO Update (the official Newsletter of AUPO) is complete, it will be added to this section here. Meanwhile, all the updates relating to our court cases are available on the Court Case(s) web-page (please click the link). Membership contributions/legal fund are also due from many members. Please go to the Membership page for details.

Foreign Language Supervisors' attempt to enter IB(P)S: Supervisors' in ESD (External Services Division) have approached the Court to gain entry into the IB(P)S with retrospective effect. This would push us further down the seniority list and eat into our promotional posts. AUPO will strongly resist this move, and will intervene in the case as a party by the next date of hearing. In the past, many such ineligible cadres have been inducted into the Programme cadre, without any resistance from the PSA. This has seriously damaged our seniority positions and promotional opportunities. We hope the PSA will also join AUPO in resisting any further intrusion into the programme cadre.

AUPO has sought to become a party in this case. The next hearing in CAT Delhi is on 18 July 2003 - 15 May 2003

Foreign Training: In protest against the 'pick-and-choose' policy being adopted by AIR & DD Directorates in selecting Programme Officers for foreign training, our Legal Cell is offering all support to the PSWA (Programme Staff Welfare Association) in the case filed by them in the Delhi High Court. The case was filed by the PSWA when Shri. S P Singh, a very junior PEX was nominated for a SAARC Workshop in Colombo, overlooking the the claims of seniors who had been producing SAARC programmes for years. The PSWA has questioned the arbitrariness and favouritism shown by the Directorate.

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