Special Officers, Liaison Officers of Annamalai University protest over proposed move to re-designate their roles

The officers, who observed a day-long fast on Wednesday, said the University had proposed this move citing a financial crunch, but was operating with faculty and staff far above sanctioned numbers

Special Officers and Liaison Officers of Annamalai University in Chidambaram on Wednesday observed a day-long fast on the premises, demanding that the University administration revoke its proposed move to re-designate over 650 Special Officers and Liaison Officers deployed in various departments as Assistant Section Officers, citing a financial crunch.

A spokesperson of the Annamalai University Special Officers Association said the administration had presented a resolution at the meeting of the Syndicate held on November 11, to re-designate the posts of Special Officers and Liaison Officers. Though the administration has cited a financial crunch as the reason behind the decision, the move is against Section 58 (3) (e) of the Annamalai University Act, 2013, he contended.

The Tamil Nadu Government should immediately intervene and protect the interest of the employees, he said, adding that there had been no cut in the salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff. As against the sanctioned strength of 657 teaching staff and 1,110 non-teaching staff, the university had about 2,736 teaching and 8,443 non-teaching staff respectively. The additional strength of teaching and non-teaching staff had resulted in a higher financial burden of ₹60 to ₹70 crore annually as salaries to the institution. However, the administration has been targeting the Special Officer and Liaison Officers alone, he said.

The Association also demanded that the government immediately implement the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for these two categories of staff. The university has also put on hold promotions for Special Officers and Liaison Officers since 2018. The government should ensure ‘pending’ promotions take place, so that the employees do not lose out on their enhanced salary and pension benefits.

The Association also demanded that the university withdraw the resolution.