Secretaries Panel On Pay Commission To Double Basic Pay Percentage
New Delhi:The
Sen Times has learned, the secretary-level committee screening the
Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations is likely to recommend to
double the percentage of pay hikes what the pay commission recommended
with examining the all previous pay commissions’ reports.
Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley had said that Budget for the next fiscal needs to
provide Rs 1.10 lakh crore for implementing the Seventh Pay Commission
award and OROP.
The Seventh Pay
Commission submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in
November, recommending 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay of Central
government employees, which is the lowest in 70 years.
The pay
commission recommended fixing the highest basic salary at Rs 250,000 and
the lowest at Rs 18,000and its increased the pay gap between the
minimum and maximum from existing 1:12 to 1: 13.8.
Every pay
commissions reduced the ratio of pay between lowest earning employees
and top bureaucrats from 1:41 in 1947 to about 1:12 in 2006.
The minimum
basic salary of central government employees is now Rs 7730 while
maximum salary at the level of Secretary is Rs 80,000.
Accordingly,
the Seventh Pay Commission didn’t go on line to consider reduction in
the disparity of pay ratio between its highest and lowest paid
employees.
Pay gap
determines the socialism view of the government and the higher number of
central government employees are in the minimum pay slabs.
The pay gap increases employee’s turnover and work-related illness, with all the associated economic consequences.
The bureaucrats
with high pay are generally happier, healthier and a better place to
live for almost everyone in them compare to the lower earning employees.
The central
government set up the high-level Empowered Committee of Secretaries
headed by Cabinet Secretary to examine the such type of issues related
to the Seventh Pay Commission report.
The Empowered
Committee is continue receiving a lot of submissions of employees’
associations strongly opposed 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay,
which was recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission.
The previous
Sixth Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent basic pay hike of
central government employees, which the the secretary-level committee on
that time recommended for 40 per cent basic pay hike .
Accordingly, the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.
So the
government believes a 30 per cent basic pay hike of central government
employees is the appropriate rate, in the present scenario and the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) asked the secretaries Committee to process on
this way, a PMO official told us but he requested anonymity because he
wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
This recommendation will now have to be considered by the secretaries Committee after the budget.
It is likely change to the hike in basic pay would be announced in April or May, he added.
The pay hike
would affect the lives of over 48 lakh central government employees and
52 lakh pensioners and could trigger off similar pay hike across state
governments as well.
The Seventh Pay
Commission has recommended a 23.55 percent hike in salary, allowances
and pension involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore for the
government, of which increase in salary would be Rs 39,100 crore,
allowances Rs 29,300 crore and pension Rs 33,700 crore.
The new pay scales, subject to acceptance by the government, will come into effect from January 1, 2016.
Finance
Ministry Jaitley had said that Budget for the next fiscal needs to
provide Rs 1.10 lakh crore for implementing the Seventh Pay Commission
award and OROP.
TST
