Compassionate appointment: Govt planning to change current system; appointment only if dependent accepts job within a year

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is planning to limit compassionate appointments only to dependants who agree to accept appointments within one year of the death of government officials. The Chief Secretary level committee has recommended paying Rs 10 lakh as one-time compensation to those applicants who are unable to do so.

As per the High Court order, compassionate appointments should not exceed five percent of the PSC rank list in the respective department. As per the Chief Minister's directive, Chief Secretary Dr VP Joy called a meeting of employee organizations on January 10th to discuss this matter. The meeting will be held online. Apart from the current second Saturday, the government is also considering the committee's recommendation to make the fourth Saturday of every month a holiday for government offices. For this, working hours on weekdays will have to be increased.

The 11th Pay Commission believes that more candidates are being appointed on compassionate grounds even though the level of compassionate appointments made is just 5% according to records. Even after years, many are not getting jobs. The commission has also suggested that screening tests should be conducted while considering for promotion those who get jobs on compassionate grounds.

Organizations oppose move

Both ruling and opposition organizations have made it clear that they will oppose any proposal to limit compassionate appointments. While the pro-government organizations opposed the move to make the fourth Saturday a holiday, the opposition organizations welcomed it.

Compassionate appointment at present

• If a government employee dies while in service, his/her spouse or children will get employment as per eligibility
• If the deceased government employee is unmarried, then his/her parents or unmarried siblings will be considered for employment
• Dependents must apply within two years