Marking of biometric attendance had been made mandatory for employees of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation in November, 2019. However, when the municipal commissioner discovered that almost 300 of the 1800 strong workforce had failed to take the order seriously, he ordered their salaries for the month of February to be held back.
The concerned employees have been asked to furnish a valid reason for not abiding by the rules. Their salaries will now be paid subject to the reasons furnished by them.
The order had been given last year to ensure that the practice of proxy attendance is checked. It was also a way to monitor the employees, as the biometric attendance system uses smart devices to record the time at which the employees report for work and the time they leave. The employees are required to use their fingerprints to register their arrival and departure.
The municipal commissioner also made it clear that those who fail to mark their biometric attendance will be marked absent.
The Corporation is also determined to distribute wrist watches enabled with the global positioning system (GPS) to keep track of the whereabouts of its field staff. The sweepers’ association, however, does not approve of the plan and the employees have been protesting the move, claiming health hazards from using the gadgets. But the municipal corporation has turned a deaf ear and is expected to purchase these watches soon.
