Leave rules – Extending the eligibility of half a day LAP to all employees: IRTSA

Leave rules – Extending the eligibility of half a day LAP to all employees: IRTSA

INDIAN RAILWAYS TECHNICAL SUPERVISORS’ ASSOCIATION

No:IRTSA/Memo-24

Date: 17.04.2024

Director General (HR)
Railway Board

Respected Sir,

Sub: Leave rules. – Extending the eligibility of half a day LAP to all employees.
Ref: Para-539(2) of Indian Railway Establishment Code Volume-I

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IRTSA wishes to emphasize the necessity of extension of half day LAP eligibility to all employees and thereupon submit the following facts to your kind perusal:

1) IREC para 539 given below entitles workshop artisan staff to avail half a day LAP. 539 Leave to Workshop staff. – (1) Skilled artisans as also semi-skilled and un-skilled workman will earn leave on average pay, half average pay and commuted leave and leave not due in accordance with these rules.

(2) Workshop staff may be allowed to take leave with pay, if due, or without pay, for periods not less than half a day. For this purpose leave for half a day means authorized absence from duty for over half an hour either during the first period before interval or the second period of any day on which the workshop remains open for both the periods. This concession however, is restricted to six occasions in a year.

2) The purpose of entitling half a day LAP for one category of staff and not entitling for all other staff is not known clearly since the decision was taken in the year 1949 and this rule was not revised for so many years.

3) Half day LAP entitlement might have been given to workshop artisan staff to make them available for work after attending their personal needs in shorter length of time.

4) In present day situation the reasons for allowing half day LAP remains same for all and all non-gazetted employees are required to record their attendance on bio metric method. Reasons like employees coming for duty from faraway places, delay in commuting in city traffic, requirement of attending personal & family needs for an hour, delay due to natural causes like heavy rain, employees returning to HQ in the morning after availing leave or weekend outing, employees required to proceed on leave for emergencies after attending duty for half a day, etc requires half day LAP entitlement for all staff.

5) If half a day LAP entitlement is given to all employees, it will not be necessary for employees to apply full day LAP when they are in need of half a day leave only. It will improve employees’ availability at work. This will improve overall performance of section/shop/depot/office, etc. Cumulatively throughout Indian Railways lakhs of man hours will be available for productive work.

6) Denial of eligibility of half a day LAP to all employees is in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India which says that, “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.”

7) Hence it is requested that, entitlement of half a day LAP may be extended to all employees of Indian Railways including Technical Supervisors, which will ensure winwin situation for employees and administration.

Thank you in anticipation.

Yours’ truly

K.V.RAMESH
General Secretary, IRTSA
9003149578

Source: IRTSA