In this age of contract jobs, which can be terminated for even minor mistakes, there lives a peon of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) who got promoted, leave alone being fired, even after not reporting to work since the last 17 years.
Though he is on leave without pay, he is entitled to back-dated salary for yearly leaves, along with provident fund and gratuity dues. Could there be a better employer to not work for?
Sunil Gorivale was appointed in the municipal secretary department as a peon on July 11, 1993. However, after a brief four-month stint, he lost interest in the job and started bunking regularly. Emboldened by no action being initiated against him, he decided to do away with the formality of reporting to work altogether in 1995.
His absence was without intimation, and no one bothered.
The civic body discovered his absence more than five years later, when departmental records showed that he had been absent from June 30, 2001 to June 2, 2003. A departmental inquiry was initiated against him for his 703-day absence. As a result, his annual increment was withheld, after being approved by the standing committee in April 15, 2005. When Gorivale was intimated, he applied for leave without pay. Though it was not approved, he continued to be on the rolls.
When Gorivale failed to return to work, he was informed that the department is initiating another inquiry for his absence of 115 days without permission. The best the department could punish him with this time was by reversing three of his increments, but perhaps Gorivale couldn’t care less.
When Gorivale was found absent from January 24, 2008, to February 22, 2008, another inquiry was initiated. Gorivale responded with another request for leave without pay.
Meanwhile, despite being indicted in three inquiries, the department promotedhim to the post of Naik from Havildar.
An officer from the municipal secretary department said on condition of anonymity, “It is not so easy even after the standing committee approves the proposal. We have to seek legal opinion for the action and it will take some more months.”
In another case, the BMC is yet to dismiss an employee even after his demise. Vinayak Dwarkanath Prabhale started working as a butcher in the Deonar abattoir from June, 1973. However, between July 25, 1995, and October 10, 1996, he was absent without intimation.
The office initiated an inquiry and dismissed him from BMC’s service on August 1, 1998. But the civic administration did not serve the dismissal order to the employee. Prabhale died on June 6, 2006, but continues to be on the BMC’s rolls.
Comments