Jaipur : The jail guards of Rajasthan are once again on the path of agitation demanding equal pay scale as that of the police. Angry over non-implementation of orders to remove pay anomalies, the guards will announce agitation after September 15, a meeting will be called soon to decide the strategy on this. More than 3000 jail guards are working in various jails. The guards are demanding 24 grade pay like the police, while they are currently getting 1900 grade pay. The demand for equal pay scale is being raised since the last 25 years.
Earlier there was equal pay
The jail guards say that from 1988 to 1998, the jail guards used to get the same pay scale as the police. After this, the Finance Department revised the pay scale of the police personnel on 1 March 1998, which led to inequality in the pay scale of the jail department personnel.
Have boycotted the mess twice
The jail guards had boycotted the mess during the Vasundhara government in 2017 and the Congress government in 2023, demanding equal pay. State President of Karmachari Sanyukt Karamchari Mahasangh (Integrated) Gajendra Singh Rathore said that during the agitation in the Congress government, the then Chief Minister, Jail Minister, Home Secretary and the committee formed for jail reforms had recommended the same pay scale as the police. Despite that, the pay scale has not been increased till date, nor has any major announcement been made for the guards in the budget. Angered by this, the jail guards are now forced to protest once again.
