On Tuesday, as news of the death of their colleague spread, anger ran high among the staff of UT Estate Office, Sector 17.
A bunch of disgruntled employees later gathered outside the office to hold a protest against the ‘intensive work pressure’ that they are being subjected to.
Some employees later held a closed door meeting with UT Estate Officer, Vinay Pratap Singh, at the office, during which they narrated their concerns.
“One employee is at present handling the work of at least five individuals in the office. We have been forced to take on work that was being done by people who retired from the office but not replaced by new appointments. There are many employees who can not leave office before 9pm.
Above all, we do not have the infrastructure in the office complex as per our requirements. Many posts are lying vacants,” said a woman employee employed at the Estate Office, on the condition of anonymity.
A second employee, again requesting anonymity, said, “No young person wants to join the UT Estate Office due to the work pressure. It is not easy to get a file cleared here. Files related to properties, mutations etc come to us and they are very sensitive. If someone bypasses a rule in good faith, even if it is for the convenience of the public, there is always a chance that they get pulled over by a senior officer, who do not agree with them. Files always move at a snail’s pace here.”
Contacted, a senior UT estate officer said, “Many employees, who are posted in other departments and transferred to the UT Estate Office, are yet to join their new postings. They are deliberately delaying their joining here at the estate office.”
As per records, there are at least 290 employees who work in 20 branches of the Estate Office. Of them, around 150 employees are regular, while the rest work on a contractual basis.
Estate Officer, Vinay Pratap Singh, says “One of our employees very unfortunately died by suicide today. All of our staff have expressed condolences to his family. Some employees had briefly staged a protest outside the office to raise their concerns. I held a meeting with them after and understood and addressed their concerns. We have made a note of the areas that were highlighted by the employees and the Assistant Estate Officers have been asked to resolve them on a priority.
Employees are free to meet any senior officer regarding their grievances and concerns. Every Wednesday for one hour, all senior officers will fix a time for meeting with the staff and resolve their grievances. We are in touch with the police authorities as they investigate the likely cause of Tuesday’s unfortunate incident. The employees here have assured me that they will continue working hard and deliver best possible services to residents of Chandigarh.”