Chandigarh, May 27
A government job is not always as lucrative as it appears. In Punjab, hundreds of new entrants who quit well-paid jobs in the private sector to join government service after April 5, 2011, have been left high and dry.

They have been placed in the minimum pay band, irrespective of the salary they drew earlier. The state government passed the Punjab Civil Services (Rationalisation of Certain Conditions of Services) Act, 2011, in the last Budget session making it mandatory for all recruits in group “A” to “D” to undergo a three-year induction period during which they would be given basic pay of Rs 10,000 or less, sans perks or facilities.

This three-year period, extendable up to 5 years, would not be included in the service tenure, affecting their pension, gratuity and other benefits.

Most recruits will receive their first salary on June 1. Rohit (name changed), an associate professor with a well-known private management college, who quit his job that fetched him Rs 33,000 per month after deductions has been in a shock after receiving communication that Rs 9,064 will be credited into his account on June 1 as salary for May, 2011.

Kuldeep (name changed), a post-graduate from a reputed institute, was drawing a hefty salary teaching electronics. Having joined a government job, he now gets only about 25 per cent of what he earned before.

For the 1,200-odd qualified doctors and veterinarians, the government remuneration is a mere pittance. At least 72 MBAs and post-graduates who have joined Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, too have got their salaries for May ranging between Rs 8,400 to Rs 9,000.

The departments where voices of discontent have been more pronounced are the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department and the Punjab Secretariat staff.

Though recruitment in Punjab Agro is in the Rs 10300-34800+3800 grade, the new entrants will get a mere Rs 10,000 cash in hand. Once the induction period is over, the employees will be entitled to the pay scales as per the service rules and all admissible perks and allowances.

The seniority of these employees will be calculated from the day they complete the induction period. For now, the recruits will be entitled to 12 days of casual leave and 30 days of extraordinary leave on account of sickness or accident.

Women will be eligible for three months’ maternity leave. During the induction period, the services of the employee can be terminated on a one-month notice.

For some, the recruitment process was completed much before April 5, 2011, but with the government not issuing them joining letters, they could not join before the cutoff date.

The government has promised to make an amendment in the Act to retain talent, but so far the promise is only on paper.