Promotions hold up job opportunities in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Promotions to existing staff in various government departments have been holding up job opportunities of freshers. Employees’ unions are exerting pressure on the government to promote existing staff without following mandatory percentage on jobs to be provided for promotees and freshers.

This has led to vacancies for direct recruitees coming down in various departments, leading to resentment among students and unemployed. The TS government had made a statement in the Legislative Assembly in 2015 that there were 1.25 lakh vacancies in the state departments, which would be filled within a year through direct recruitment by conducting exams.

However, employees’ unions started exerting pressure on government to fill about 70 per cent of these vacancies by giving promotions to existing staff and fill the remaining 30 per cent posts through direct recruitment. This resulted in the government issuing notifications only for 55,000 posts so far, and keeping the remaining posts on hold.

The posts of excise circle inspector, local fund audit inspectors, probationary revenue inspectors, assistance welfare officers in BCs, SCs, STs were converted from direct recruitment to promotions.Intense protests from BC Welfare Organisation involving students and unemployed forced the government to restore direct recruitment posts in some departments.

 “Direct recruitment will infuse fresh blood in government departments. This will increase efficiency besides checking corruption to some extent. But the officials are converting direct recruitment jobs to promotion jobs under pressure from employees unions,” said R. Krishnaiah, president, BC Welfare Association.

Owing to the protests, the government recently restored 1,000 posts in direct recruitment quota but there is a demand to increase these posts to 3,000. The government had allotted over 250 deputy tahsidar posts to direct recruitment quota following protests from students and unemployed.