7th Pay Commission: Modi Govt Under Pressure To Hike Minimum Pay
Prime Minister Narendra Modi government faces pressure to hike minimum pay for Central government employees.
Earlier media reports mentioning that the National Anomaly Committee (NAC) is likely to go ahead for hike in minimum pay Rs 21,000 from Rs 18,000 from the existing 2.57 fitment factor to 3.00 and its report will be submitted in December, and after cabinet nod, the new pay hike will be implemented from April 2018.
In the meantime the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a letter on October 30 to Shiv Gopal Mishra, Secretary, Staff Side, National Council JCM stating that the demand for increase in minimum Pay and fitment formula do not appear to be treated as anomaly, therefore, these do not come under the purview of National Anomaly Committee (NAC).
After a more measured response to DoPT letter, a top central government employees’ leader said Modi government must realize in order to avoid a government employee backlash against the government.
“Minimum pay notified by the government in last year is too little and inadequate for central government employees, according to the inflation in the country,” he said.
Central government employees’ unions now are complaining that unions’ demand for increasing minimum pay, is being laid off by the DoPT letter.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier agreed to resolve the problems of minimum pay hike of central government employees, who had met representatives of several central government employees’ unions leaders on June 30, 2016 for almost two hours in home minister Rajnath Singh’s house with other two cabinet ministers—Rajnath Singh and Suresh Prabhu and assured them a high level committee would look into the increasing minimum Pay and fitment formula.
Jaitley’s assurance had prevented several central government employees’ unions to go indefinite strike from July 11, 2016.
“The minimum pay of central government employees Rs 18,000 was made on recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. But government will consider hiking it after discussions with all stakeholders, once the proposal in this regard will be submitted to government by the proposed high level committee,” Jaitley had said in Rajya Sabha on July 19, 2016.
“A hike in minimum pay has been one of the long-standing our demands. The 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay for us under the 7th Pay Commission was the lowest in 70 years,” the leader said.
“Central government, said media reports, is considering increasing the minimum basic pay for us from the existing Rs 18,000 to Rs 21,000 per month and fitment factor to 3.00 times from existing 2.57 times. But the DoPT letter now hints that the government will not accept our demand,” he told us.
“We have been demanding that the minimum basic pay be increased to Rs 26,000 per month,” he added.
“Jaitley constituted National Anomaly Committee (NAC) instead of high level committee in September, 2016 to look into the pay irregularities arising out of the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations including hike in minimum pay but DoPT letter now says minimum pay and fitment factor doesn’t come under the purview of the NAC,” he said.
The leader has also threatened that if the government doesn’t hike the minimum pay for central government employees, then the central government employees’ unions will proceed on an indefinite strike.