KOCHI: Employees of Kochi Corporation will now be forced to think twice before they shirk work and stay away from office.

With the introduction of biometric attendance system from Wednesday,
officers and staff will have to report for duty on time. The corporation
had decided to introduce the system following public complaints
regarding the absence of staff in the local body offices across the
city.

According to mayor Tony Chammany, the corporation has come
up with the new system after it noticed that many employees were absent
even though they were marked present as per office records. City
residents were unable to complete their transactions with the local body
in a stipulated timeframe due to the absence of staff.

“With
the introduction of biometric system, the staff will have to punch in
and punch out at regular timings. As we have incorporated the impression
of index fingers in this system, the employee will have to record his
attendance in person,” he said. Hinting at the civic body’s earlier
attempt to electronically record attendance, the mayor said that the
corporation had lost faith in the system of swiping cards.

“That
system failed because employees, who were not on duty, ensured that
their cards were swiped by someone else. Moreover, there was stiff
resistance from various unions,” said Chammany.

The system has
been put in place by Keltron by spending Rs 15.4 lakh. A unique number
has been provided with the ID card. Field officers, including
corporation secretary, will have to punch in and punch out each time
they enter and leave the office. The system will also function as a
movement register. The ID number is mapped to the finger print and as
the e-governance system comes into force these data will be linked to
employee’s profile.

Taking into account the opposition from
employee unions, the corporation had held talks with their
representatives prior to implementation of the project. Following the
soft launch of the biometric system at the corporation’s main office,
the project will be introduced in the zonal and circle offices. “There
will be a trial period of one month. Employees will get ample time to
know the system. From September 1, it will be made compulsory for all
employees,” the mayor said. During trial, a manual register will be
maintained and errors can be rectified. y any errors that occur.

Employees of Kochi corporation will now be forced to think twice before
they shirk work and stay away from office. With the introduction of
bio-metric attendance system from Wednesday, the officers and staff will
have to report for duty on time. The corporation had decided to
introduce the system following public complaints regarding the absence
of staff in the local bodies offices across the city.

According
to mayor Tony Chammany, the corporation has come up with the new system
as it was noticed that many employees were absent even when they were
marked present in the office records. In the absence of the staff, it
became difficult for city residents to complete their transactions with
the local body in a stipulated time frame.

“With the
introduction of bio-metric system, the staff will have to punch in and
punch out at regular timings. As we have incorporated the impression of
index fingers in this system, the employee will have to do the punching
in person,” he said. Hinting at an earlier attempt made by the
corporation to electronically record attendance, the mayor said that the
corporation had lost faith in the system of swiping cards. “That system
failed because the employees who were not on duty ensured that their
cards were swiped by someone else. Moreover, there was stiff resistance
from various unions,” added Chammany.

The system has been put in
place by Keltron at a cost of Rs 15.4 lakh. A unique identity (ID)
number has been provided with the ID card. Field officers, including
corporation secretary, will have to punch in and punch out each time
they enter and leave the office. The system will also function as a
movement register. The ID number is mapped to the finger print, and as
the e-governance system comes into force these data will be linked to
employee’s profile.

Taking into account the opposition from
employee unions, the corporation had held talks with their
representatives prior to project implementation. Following the soft
launch of the bio-metric system at the corporation’s main office the
project will be introduced in the zonal and circle offices. “There will
be a trial period of one month. It will provide employees ample time to
get introduced to the system.

From September 1, it will be made
compulsory for all employees,” said the mayor. During the trial period, a
manual register will be maintained, and the staff will be provided the
opportunity to rectify errors in the id cards.