Governance and administration will never improve if there is mass absenteeism or any other sort of ‘indiscipline’ in government departments. The topic arises because of mass absenteeism at the Margao Municipal Council this week after the biometric system of attendance was discontinued as an employee developed COVID-19. Taking advantage of the situation employees of the MMC decided to abstain from work leaving the offices of the town council practically empty. MMC Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes admits there is mass absenteeism and that he is ‘trying his level best to discipline the staff’. This statement almost appears to be made by school teacher who is finding it difficult to control the class of unruly children.
This begs the question: Should there be attempts to bring about discipline among government staff or should there be action taken against the erring staff? A government servant is expected to be a mature adult and not a immature brat that needs to be disciplined for any reason.
Absenteeism among government staff is, however, not a new phenomenon and such absenteeism is not restricted to the Margao Municipal Council but can be seen across the State in almost every department of the government. In the case of the MMC the absence from work has begun to show on the ground. During the current term of this Assembly there have been instances of ministers and even the Chief Minister warning the staff of action for late arrival in office, for holding second jobs and for being unfriendly with visitors to government offices. No action was taken, but the warnings in themselves were significant to indicate that the political establishment was aware of the questionable activities in government offices.
Undertaking a broader examination of absenteeism in government offices, one has to admit that it is a vital issue demanding that it be tackled on an immediate basis as it not only portrays ‘indiscipline’, as pointed out by the CO of the Margao Municipal Council, but also brings down productivity in the government sector. Simultaneously, it causes expenditure and loss of man hours, affecting not just the department work, but forcing citizens who approach a government department to make return visits to complete their tasks. This, therefore, calls for a course correction on the part of the administration to ensure that its workforce gives of its best.
Earlier this month, the Himachal Pradesh government, taking a serious view of indiscipline among its staff issued directives with riders, including withdrawal of allowances, to put stop to such activities. Given the number of times that the Goa government has raised the issue of its staff performance in the past years, shouldn’t it begin to take serious note of the situation and introduce corrective measures? There are rules that must be implemented. The government may not be keen to introduce penalties, especially since this is a huge vote bank and also because unless employee morale is high, functioning of the government will be adversely affected. On the other hand, absenteeism also affects performance.
If not penalties, the least that the State can do to correct that situation is develop a mechanism that will gauge the output and performance of every employee and promotional opportunities should be based on this rather than years of service. It’s a well-tested policy of rewards for results in the private sector, so why can’t the government implement it? Besides, in December 2019 the Chief Minister had stated that the government was contemplating promotions of its staff based on performance rather than seniority. The government has had long enough for this contemplation it is time to bring it into effect, even if there be opposition to the move.
