NEW DELHI: While the central
government has decided to keep the salary of mid and senior level
central government employees unchanged, it is considering a proposal to
raise the salary of all central government employees whose pay falls
within pay matrix level 5.
“The government is considering a proposal to raise the salary of all
central government employees up to pay matrix level 5, beyond the 7th
Pay Commission’s recommendation,” said a senior official in the finance
ministry on the condition of anonymity.The salary of mid level and senior level will remain unchanged.
“There will be no change in salaries of employees above pay matrix level 5. The ministry is of the view that they have already got a good hike in the seventh pay commission recommendations,” the senior official added.
The 7th Pay Commission had recommended a hike of 14.27 per cent in basic pay of central government employees, raising minimum pay from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 a month.
Following the recommendations of the 7th pay commission in June 2016, central government employees get a minimum pay of Rs 18,000 a month while the maximum pay is Rs 2.5 lakh per month.
Central government employees’ unions, which were unhappy with the Pay Commission recommendations, had demanded that the minimum pay be raised to Rs 26,000 instead of Rs 18,000 and the upper limit be raised to Rs 3.25 lakh a month. They had also threatened to go on an indefinite strike over pay hike on July 11, 2016.
The strike was called off after finance minister Arun Jaitley assured the unions that the government would consider salary hike after discussions with all stakeholders. Various reports have suggested that in future, the government will do away with pay commissions and look at an alternative way to revise future salaries and allowances of central staff and pensioners.