Prolonged Stagnation Irks Career Counselling Officers Over Delay in Gazetted Service Recruitment Rules

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag 07 July: Career Counselling Officers and Employment Officers on Tuesday expressed deep resentment over the government’s inaction, alleging that the absence of Gazetted Recruitment Rules for the past 16 years has deprived them of career growth opportunities and significantly affected their morale.

The aggrieved officials have submitted a joint representation to the Chief Secretary, seeking immediate intervention for their long-awaited career progression. A copy of the representation, which lies with Arising State, mentions that the Executive Cadre employees of the Employment Department—comprising Career Counselling Officers and Employment Officers—are seeking due consideration through executive orders, particularly for notifying eligibility for promotion to the post of Assistant Director Employment.

The representation notes that the issue has previously been raised before the then Chief Secretary, who had acknowledged the merit of the case and directed appropriate action. Copies of earlier representations and related government communications are enclosed along with the latest appeal. The officers have placed fresh hope in the recent Government Orders No. 635-JK(GAD) of 2024 dated 16.02.2024 and No. 731-JK(GAD) of 2025 dated 18.06.2025, which relate to notifying recruitment rules through executive orders.

The Executive Cadre currently functions at Pay Level-6 and carries out essential departmental responsibilities. The posts of Career Counselling Officers were created in 2010 by converting posts of Junior Employment Officers while maintaining parity in pay and nature of duties, as per Government Order No. 78-L&E of 2010 dated 15.06.2010.

Government Order No. 10-L&E of 2023 clearly mentions that only Employment Officers and Career Counselling Officers of the J&K Employment (Subordinate) Service are eligible for promotion to Assistant Director. However, out of 13 departmental quota posts of Assistant Director, 10 remain vacant. Three are being managed on an in-charge basis by Executive Cadre officers since 2012. In several districts such as Anantnag and Kulgam, officers from the Labour Department are forced to shoulder multiple additional charges—four to five in some cases—hampering effective departmental functioning.

According to the representation, the draft Recruitment Rules have already been framed and propose a 50 percent promotion quota for Executive Cadre officers (25 percent from each category) after five years of service. These draft rules were made public vide LE-Genl/45/2021 dated 01.05.2023. Despite this, the final approval continues to be delayed, further demotivating officers who have served for years without advancement.

The employees have urged the Chief Secretary to act on this issue without further delay and ensure long-overdue justice through the issuance of executive orders, enabling fair and timely promotions in the interest of departmental efficiency and employee morale.