Business
Standard: New Delhi: Thursday, 12 February 2015.
The Central
Information Commission today rejected an order of DoPT Secretary and resolved
to continue with outsourced staff at higher wages saying it is an autonomous
organisation under RTI Act and not bound by the directives of the central
government.
The
commission met in its full strength to discuss the crisis which arose after the
directive of Secretary, Personnel asking it to either do away with its
outsourced staff, which constitutes nearly 60 per cent of sanctioned strength,
or cut their pay to minimum rates prescribed by it.
During the
meeting which saw presence of all the seven Information Commissioners, it was
of the unanimous view that the decision of the commission to hire outsourced
staff at an incentive was well within its rights given under Section 12 of the
Right to Information Act.
The
commission also resolved that it was an autonomous body under the Right to
Information Act and not bound by the directives of the government.
During the
long meeting, the commissioners resolved there was no bar in regulations to
give incentives to the staff which has acquired knowledge of working of
commission and the RTI Act and have become necessary to "ensure efficiency
in the working" of the commission.
The
Secretary, Personnel had asked the CIC to cut the wages of outsourced
employees, forming two-thirds of the commission, to basic minimum wages or fire
them thus creating fear that the commission with 40,000 pending cases may
crumble in the absence of experienced outsourced staff which handles most of
the administrative work.
The
commissioners highlighted pending cases to stress that CIC had taken a decision
to give incentive to these outsourced employees because of their efficiency and
there was no reason to go back on that.
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