The central government has formulated a fresh approach to deal with the issue of complexity over implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission report.
Expenditure Secretary Ratan Watal
According to officials close to the implementation process, the government has decided to make up pay gap between employees and higher officers and to continue allowances and advances, which was scrapped by the pay commission.
The Pay Commission recommendations implementation cell under Finance Ministry is now working on an effective mechanism for implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission report by resolving the issues that arose over pay gap between low paid employees and top level officers.
A proposal for raising salaries of the central government employees by 20-24% per instead of 16 per cent, was recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission is also under study, officials close to the implementation process said Thursday.
But the final decision on the row over better pay hike from 16 per cent is expected to come from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement in next year.
People, familiar with the development, told the Sen Times that for that reason the implementation cell under Finance Ministry is going slow on the file of implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission report.
“The final proposal on the proposed pay matrix for central government employees will be sent to the Finance Minister through Expenditure Secretary before the next budget from us,” officials close to the implementation process told the Sen Times.
On receipt of the proposal from the implementation cell it would be placed before the cabinet for its nod through the group of secretaries of revision pay panel report headed by cabinet secretary, they added.
Under the prevailing circumstances, the central government employees are unlikely to draw salaries under the new pay matrix before next financial year, as promised earlier by the finance minister.
Officials, however, said whenever the new pay matrix would come into effect, the central government employees would get their enhanced salaries with effect from next year January 1 but they will get the benefit of Allowances like House Rent Allowance, Transport Allowance from the date of implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.
The complexity over implementation of the new pay commission cropped up soon after the recommendation made by the Seventh Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur.
The central government employees are in for disappointment as the Seventh Pay Commission report has been proposed a 16 percent hike in pay, which is significantly lower than what the Sixth pay commission had recommended which was close to a 40 percent increase in pay.
The central government employees also prefer continuation of some allowances and advances like risk allowance, small family allowance, festival advance, motor cycle advance but the Mathur led Seventh Pat Commission recommended scrapping of those.
The officials close to the implementation process said, the central government wants to increase in basic pay for all government employees will be in the region of 20-24%. This is a very rough average because for low paid employees may get more than 26% pay hike.
Accordingly, minimum basic salary is likely to hike at least Rs 20,000 from Rs 18,000 recommended by the Seventh pay commission.
They also confirmed that the implementation cell is likely to propose doubling of existing rates of allowances and advances, which has been recommended for abolition by Seventh Pay Commission like risk allowance, small family allowance, festival advance, motor cycle advance.
However, a number of sources of the Finance Ministry said the cabinet would take the decision on whether the basic pay would be hiked from 16 percent or not and some allowances and advances would be scrapped or not after recommendation of the group of secretaries of revision pay panel report.
The Seventh Pay Commission proposed the highest basic salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000 for the central government employees.
The Seventh Pay Commission has recommended abolition of pay band and pay scales, and replacing them with what is known as a pay matrix. The status of the employee, hitherto determined by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix.
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