No job security, regularisation plan for Prasar Bharati casual assignees: MIB

Prasar Bharati currently has no proposal to regularise, contractually absorb or extend additional social security benefits to the casual assignees engaged by All India Radio (AIR) and the public broadcaster, even as the government acknowledged that such personnel are engaged on a need-based, assignment basis.

In a written reply to Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Dr L. Murugan said Prasar Bharati engages casual assignees for programme requirements under prescribed guidelines. The engagements are not made against sanctioned posts and do not confer any right to regular appointment.

The government's response came in reply to an unstarred question by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, who sought details on the number of casual personnel working across All India Radio and Prasar Bharati, including casual announcers, news readers-cum-translators, comperes and broadcast assistants. The question also sought information on personnel who have rendered continuous service for more than five, 10, 15 and 20 years, including those serving in Odisha.

No consolidated data on length of service

The government said it does not maintain a fixed number or tenure-wise data on casual assignees because their engagement is need-based and made purely on an assignment basis.

“Such engagements are not against sanctioned posts, do not confer any right to regular appointment and do not create an employer-employee relationship,” the ministry said.

This means the government does not have, within the data cited in the parliamentary response, a consolidated account of how many casual personnel have continued working for five, 10, 15 or 20 years or longer. The absence of tenure-wise data also means the response does not provide a state-wise or station-wise count of such long-serving casual personnel.

The issue is significant because the parliamentary question specifically sought to establish the extent to which workers who are formally engaged as casual assignees may have remained associated with AIR and Prasar Bharati for prolonged periods. However, the ministry's response does not provide those numbers.

Casual workers outside regular employee benefits

According to the government, casual assignees are free to undertake other employment and are not entitled to the service benefits applicable to regular employees.

Their remuneration is paid through a fee structure rather than the service framework applicable to regular employees, although the government said this fee structure is reviewed from time to time.

The response therefore draws a clear distinction between casual assignees and regular employees of Prasar Bharati. While the former can be engaged to meet programme requirements, the government does not recognise these assignments as creating an employer-employee relationship.

The ministry's position also indicates that prolonged engagement by itself does not translate into a claim for regular appointment under the existing framework.

No move towards regularisation or expanded social security

The government has also ruled out, at least for now, any proposal to regularise casual assignees, absorb them contractually, revise their remuneration framework or extend social security benefits to them.

“At present, no proposal for regularisation, contractual absorption, revision of remuneration or extension of social security benefits is under consideration,” the ministry said.

The statement directly addresses several of the key demands raised in the parliamentary question, which asked whether the government had considered measures relating to service conditions, remuneration, social security, medical benefits and job security.

The ministry did not indicate any new policy initiative or committee examining these issues in its response.

Grievances to be examined on merit

The government said representations and grievances submitted by casual assignees are examined on merit. Such examination is undertaken in accordance with existing policy guidelines, judicial pronouncements, administrative instructions, operational requirements and related policies.

It added that operational and related policies are reviewed periodically to ensure transparency and uniform implementation of the guidelines.

The response, however, does not specify the number of grievances received, how many have been resolved, or whether any specific measures have been taken in response to representations from long-serving casual personnel.

Long-standing workforce structure remains unchanged

The parliamentary reply underscores the structural distinction between casual assignment and regular employment within Prasar Bharati. Casual assignees are brought in to meet programme requirements, but their engagement is not linked to sanctioned posts and does not establish an employer-employee relationship.

For workers who may have remained associated with AIR or Prasar Bharati for extended periods, the government's present position therefore offers no formal pathway to regularisation or contractual absorption.

The ministry's answer also leaves unanswered the precise scale of long-term casual engagement. Since tenure-wise data is not maintained, the parliamentary record does not establish how many casual announcers, news readers-cum-translators, comperes, broadcast assistants or personnel in other categories have worked continuously for more than five, 10, 15 or 20 years.

For now, the government has said that the existing assignment-based system will continue, with fee structures reviewed periodically and individual grievances considered under existing rules and instructions.