Cabinet approves two percent Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees

          The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensionersw.e.f. 01.01.2018 representing an increase of 2% over the existing rate of 5% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise.

 This will benefit about 48.41 lakh Central Government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.

 The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.6077.72 crore per annum and Rs.7090.68 crore in the financial year 2018-19 (for a period of 14 months from January, 2018 to February, 2019).

 This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7^th Central Pay Commission.  http://pib.nic.inease.aspx/newsite 

PROTEST MOVEMENT BY DEFENCE VETERANS, UPDATE AND WAY AHEAD

    Dear Veterans,

1.       Second Hearing in HSC against the NGT Order to lift Dharanas from Jantar Mantar has been fixed for 05 Mar 2018.  Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan is representing the case.  We are hopeful of some positive order from HSC.

2.       Third Hearing of our OROP Case in HSC has been tentatively fixed for 1^st week of Apr 2018.  We have made Prayers for the Implementation of Actual OROP and other related issues as under:-

· Declaring the letter dated 07.11.2015 bearing reference 12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol)-Part-II illegal, unconstitutional, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution;

· Declaring  the Notification dated 14.12.2015 bearing reference No. 12(01)/2014-D(Pen/Pol)-Part-II issued by Respondent No. 1 illegal, unconstitutional, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution;

· Declaring  the letter of Respondent No. 1 to the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff dated 03.02.2016 bearing reference 12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Policy)-Part- II illegal, unconstitutional, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution;

·Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that the pension of past pensioners be automatically and contemporaneously enhanced, whenever there is any future increase or enhancement in the rates of pension;

·Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that errors in tables prepared by the Central Government indicating One Rank One Pension computation, wherein there are numerous instances of ex-servicemen who retired with senior rank and longer length of service being shown to be eligible for lesser pension that ex-servicemen who retired with junior rank, be corrected to ensure One Rank One Pension;

· Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that fixation of pension must be on the basis of financial year 2014-2015 and not calendar year 2013;

·Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing payment of revised pension with effect from 01.04.2014 instead of 01.07.2014;

· Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that Havildars who retired as Hon. Naib Subedar be given the pension of Naib Subedar;

· Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that all soldiers who have been conferred an Honourary superior rank, whether before or after retirement, be given the pension relatable to such superior rank;

                                                          

·Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that all ex-servicemen of the defence services be given benefit of full per-commissioning service period for pension calculation, regardless of their date of retirement;

· Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that veterans who have retired as Major after 13 years of service be granted the pension of Lt. Colonel;

·Direction in the nature of mandamus to the Union of India directing that veterans who retired prior to 2004 as Lt. Colonel be given pension of Colonel;

· Pass any other or future order(s) as this Hon’ble Court deems fit in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

· 7^th CPC  pensions need to be worked out afresh by multiplying the factor of 2.57 to    the Actual pensions as on 31 Dec 2015   and not the pensions of base year 2013.

· 33 years  rule  having been cancelled,  the pensions of Defence Personnel need to be  reworked afresh based on the rank and engagement period.

3.       Meeting of Defence Veterans alongwith the serving senior
 officers chaired by Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre Raksha Rajya Mantri (Minister of State for Defence) held on 16 Feb 2018 which was well attended.  All Organisations gave out their issues.  I attended the meeting on behalf of IESM, and raised the following issues.

 (a)   Implementation of Actual One Rank One Pension (OROP).

(b)    Pensions of Defence Widows should be same as the ESM Pensions.

(c)    Pensions of Defence Reservists be enhanced to equivalent to pension of Sepoy.

(d)    Ensuring Second Career for the early Defence Retirees till the age of 60 years through the Act of Parliament.

(e)    Improvements in Medical care Scheme ECHS.  The medical procedures which have been introduced in the Country be on ECHS Procedure list within, six months of their being operational in India.

(f)     Dire need to have Veterans Hospitals on the line of other Democracies.

(g)    Need to enhance ECHS Budget to efficiently manage Super Specialty Care for the Defence Personnel and their dependents.

(h)    Need to have Covenant Act of Defence Forces on the lines of UK & other countries.

(j)    Need to expedite construction of Martyrs Memorial at India Gate.  Long delays have already been caused.

(k)    Need to enhance rates of Disability Pension for Defence Personnel.

4.       We are planing to hold a Maha Rally at Delhi in mid March or a week later to resume Relay Hunger Strike across the Country.  Date and time will be communicated shortly.  All ESM are requested to take part in  Mahar Rally at Delhi  and resume Relay Hunger Strike  with intensity at various locations in the Country.

5.       State Conveners and representatives at various locations are requested to hold Meetings, Seminars, Rallies regularly in the Country.  Feedback may please be forwarded to IESM HQ at 543 Sector 23, Gurgaon -122017 (Haryana).

6.       ESM residing in NCR are requested to come to  Jantar Mantar regularly, atleast once a week to strengthen the  Protest Movement.  The Govt continues to deny our due Justice.  Not only we are being denied our dues, we are continuously being Downgraded, Degraded, ill-treated and mistreated. Legal option which has already been exercised, will take lot of time therefore we need to continue our Protest Movement with strength and intensity.

7.       Governing Body Members responsible for various states are requested to constitute committees as under:-

(a) Block Level          -        3 members.

(b) District                -        5-7 members

(c)  Big Cities             -        5-7 members.

(d) State Level          -        9-11 members.

8.       Details of members of the Committee be forwarded to IESM HQ for formalization.  Membership Drive be carried out as an ongoing campaign on war footing.

9.       On 10^th March 2018, we will be completing 1000^th Day of our continuous Agitation at Jantar Mantar and at other locations across the Country.  All Members of the Defence Family residing in NCR and areas close by Delhi are requested to visit Jantar Mantar from 1230PM to 4PM to commemorate 1000^th Day of Protest Movement.  ESM at other locations are requested to assemble at their respective locations, schedule to be decided by local conveners and committees to commemorate 1000^th Day to strengthen, our resolve to get “Justice to Jawan”.

10.     Another important issue is health Care of ESM and members of their families.  We are in touch with the ECHS HQ for update and their assistance to resolve our problems and issues.  Requests, where Empanelled Hospitals deny admission in emergency situation are being attended to on priority.  We request that any such difficulty be brought to our Notice.  Col RP Chaturvedi, Mob No 9891279035 and email: rpchaturvedi@gmail.com ,is our Head ECHS.  We have also  asked the Govt to issue  instructions for all new  medical  procedures be brought on the ECHS  list within six months of their being operational in India.  Efforts are being made to improve the availability of medicines at ECHS Clinics.

11.     We are also keeping close liaison with Veterans Directorate at Delhi Cantt.  We have brought to their notice issues concerning ESM & their dependents.  Copies of our letters to MoD & PMO are regularly being sent to the three Chiefs for their info and action.  We will continue to raise issues with Govt through requests, representations, meetings etc.

12.     We will shortly be starting our Scheme of “Measures for the benefit of Armed Forces Veterans, War widows, their dependents and Veer Naries”.  Soldiers have given supreme, sacrifice for mother land but their families have not got the recognition by the Government which they deserved for the sacrifice given by their husbands.  IESM has been recognized in corporate sector as one of the pioneer organization which is spearheading welfare measures for veterans,  veernaries,  their families and citizen of India.  Corporate houses have started contributing funds reserved as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to IESM for the purpose. Recently, one corporate  has contributed Rs 25 lakhs and to start with IESM  has allotted another  Rs 25 lakhs to make corpus  fund of Rs 50 lakhs for the  purpose.  We hope this fund will increase every year.  We plan to given scholarships to the children of veernaries, veterans and their dependents at School, College and professional level.  We plan to given financial help to veernaries who wish to start their own cottage industry and financial help to old age homes/orphanages out of this fund.  The scheme will be upgraded as we go along.  Detailed SOP is being issued separately.

13.     Lastly, friends, we do need resources to continue our Agitation, May I request all numbers of the Defence Fraternity to contribute voluntarily for the cause.  Efforts be also made to approach corporates, organizations, individuals for their contribution for the cause.  

Yours Sincerely,

Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd)
Advisor United Front of Ex Servicemen & Chairman IESM                                                                                          Mobile: 9312404269, Tel: 0124 4110570
Email: satbirsm@gmail.com

7th Pay Commission: Govt may not raise minimum pay to Rs 26,000 and fitment factor 3.68 times

 

If the central government employees' demands are accepted, around 48 lakh employees are likely to see minimum pay hike from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 and fitment factor from 2.57 times to 3.68 times. These benefits were recommended by the 7th Pay Commission or 7th CPC and approved by the Cabinet.  According to reports, pay hikes will come into effect from April 2018. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier had promised salary increase for the lower-level employees beyond the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission and had also said this in the Rajya Sabha on July 19, 2016.
The government had approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission in June 2016 and raised minimum pay from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month with fitment factor 2.57 times. The central government employees are demanding for a minimum pay hike to Rs 26,000 from Rs 18,000 and fitment factor to 3.68 times from 2.57 times. The government has reportedly formed a committee to look into the matter.
Finance Ministry sources had earlier said the demand for hike in minimum pay and fitment factor beyond the recommendations won’t be accepted as it will bring a financial burden on the government.  According to an earlier report, 34 modifications by the 7th Pay Commission had been approved by the Union Cabinet, which means an additional annual burden of Rs 30,748 crore to the exchequer. All allowances are given the effect from July 1, 2017.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a day after the Cabinet cleared the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, had promised to consider their demand for higher minimum pay. Even if the higher minimum pay is announced, central government employees, who get salaries from pay matrix level 1 to 5 will only get the benefit of it and mid-level and top-level employees will continue to get salaries according to the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.
According to several reports, the government is planning to give minimum pay of Rs 21,000 instead of current Rs 18,000. However, it is beleived that the increase will differ based on pay matrix level, an official said earlier. The government is reportedly working on pay hike for the lower-level employees from April, following the promise of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament and the demands of the unions despite the DoPT letter on October 30, last year.
The letter published by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) stating that the demand for an increase  in pay and fitment factor do not appear to be treated as an anomaly, therefore, these do not come under the purview of the NAC. The government had also formed the National Anomaly Committee (NAC) to resolve pay-related anomalies that may arise during the implementation of recommendations.
http://www.zeebiz.com/indi 

Minutes of National Anomaly Committee Meeting

F.No.11/2/2016-JCA-I(Pt.)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel Training

North Block, New Delhi
Dated: 16 February, 2018

To

Shri Shiv Gopal Mishra
Secretary, Staff-Side
National Council (Staff Side)
Joint Consultative Machinery for, Central Government Employees
13-C, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi-110001

Subject: Minutes of the Meeting held on 11.01.2018 to discuss the admissibility of the agenda items received from the Staff Side, NC (JCM) for discussion in the National Anomaly Committee (NAC) for the 7th Central Pay Commission.

Sir,

Please find enclosed a copy of the Minutes of the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary (Establishment) on Thursday the 11th January, 2018 at 1500 hours in Room No. 190, conference Room, North Block, New Delhi with the representatives of Staff Side, NC(JCM) for information and necessary action.
2. As per discussion in the above meeting, Staff Side may please reconsider their views on Item No. 7. A copy of the recording during the meeting enclosed for perusual.

Yours faithfully,
(D.K. Sengupta)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India
Tel. 23040255

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 11.01.2018 TO DISCUSS THE ADMISSIBILITY OF THE AGENDA ITEMS RECEIVED FROM THE STAFF SIDE FOR DISCUSSION IN THE NATIONAL ANOMALY COMMITTEE (NAC) FOR THE 7TH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Shri G.D. Tripathi, Joint Secretary (Establishment), Department of Personnel & Training with the representatives of Staff Side of the National Anomaly Committee and senior officers from the other Ministries/Departments concerned at 3.00 p.m. on 11.01.2018 in Room No. 190, North Block, DoPT, New Delhi to consider the admissibility of the 18 itmes of anomaly forwarded by the Staff-Side of the National Council of JCM for settlement through discussion at the NAC constituted after the Seventh Central Pay Commission. The list of participants is at Annexure.

2. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of the Staff-Side of the National Anomaly Committee and asked Deputy Secretary (JCA) to briefly inform the participants the purpose for convening this meeting.
3. Deputy Secretary (JCA) informed that following the acceptance of the recommendations – to the extent they have been – of the 7th Central Pay Commission by the Government, the National Anomaly Committee has been constituted by DoPT. Subsequently, on receipt of a representation from the Staff Side, NC(JCM), the definition of what would constitute an anomaly has been revised and notified. Therefore, as per the revised scope of definition, anomaly will include the following cases;

a) Where the Official-Side and the Staff-Side are of the opinion that any recommendation is in contravention of the principle or the policy enunciated by the Seventh Central Pay Commission itself without the Commission assigning any reason;

b) Where the maximum of the Level in the Pay Matrix corresponding to the applicable Grade Pay in the Pay Band under the pre-revised structure as notified vide CCS(RP) Rules 2016, is less than the amount an employee is entitled to be fixed at, as per the formula for fixation of pay contained in the said Rules;

c) Where the Official side and the Staff Side are of the opinion that the vertical and horizontal relativities have been disturbed as a result of the 7th Central Pay Commission to give rise to anomalous situation.

4. Deputy Secretary (JCA) mentioned that a letter dated 16.08.2017 had been received from Secretary, Staff-Side proposing to discuss 15 items in the National Anomaly Committee (NAC). Subsequently, another letter dated 31.08.2017 was also received proposing 3 additional items. On examining these 18 items against the three (03) yardsticks as stated in para-3 above, it was felt that while some agenda items clearly fall within the definition of ‘anomaly’, there are a few which cannot be termed ‘anomaly’ as such, bordering more, as they are, on the side of ‘demands’. There are a few more which apparently by virtue of affecting the interests of one Department should rather be taken up at the Departmental Anomaly Committee. On sharing the findings of this Preliminary examination with the Secretary, Staff-Side, a communication was received from him suggesting inter-alia, besides giving their own reasons for retaining the same agenda – except one item – for the NAC deliberations, that a meeting be convened to discuss and finalize the items so as to to avoid delay in convening the NAC meeting.

5. The Chairman then requested the leader of the Staff-Side and other members to put across their points of view on the issue.

6. The Leader, Staff-Side, thanked the Chairman for convening the meeting at the suggestion of Secretary, Staff-Side and initiated the discussion by emphasising that the next meeting of the National Council under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary should be held urgently as more than 7 years have passed since the last such meeting was held. He referred to the background against which the JCM scheme has been institutionalized and stressed that the purpose of JCM is to avoid confrontation between the Government and its employees. He requested that the sentiments of the Staff-Side may be conveyed to the Cabinet Secretary so that the meeting of the National Council, JCM may be held without any further delay. He also suggested that the Cabinet Secretary should meet the Standing Committee of the National Council, JCM soon after the Republic Day celebrations so that the deliberations can be be held on all pending issues. The Leader, Staff-Side further stated that there are many issues arising out of the 7th Central Pay Commission’s recommendations which are still to be settled to the satisfaction of the Staff-Side. He particularly mentioned about the recommendations relating to New Pension Scheme, Minimum Pay, Fitment Formula, etc.

7. Secretary, Staff-Side also expressed similar views about lack of interaction between the Official-Side and the Staff-Side. He mentioned that the institutions of JCM machinery has become defunct and stated that the meetings of the Standing Committee and the National Council, JCM should be called without any further delay. He also mentioned that the Group of Ministers had met the staff representatives and given some assurances for favourable consideration regarding the Minimum Pay and Fitment Formula. But even after 1-1/2 years, no decision has been conveyed by the Government. He regretted that inspite of the report submitted by NPS Committee, nothing fruitful has been done for bringing new pensioners under defined and guaranteed pension scheme. He stated that based on the assurance given by the group of Ministers, the Staff Side had deferred the call for strike but now it is getting very difficult for them to control the resentments of the staff. He stressed the need for frequent interactions so that each side can appreciate the other’s views. He also mentioned that no decision has yet been conveyed on the 6th CPC related unresolved anomalies which, the Staff-Side feels, should be sent for arbitration as the Staff-Side has recorded its dissatisfaction on them.
(Action: D/o Pension & JCA Division, DoPT)
8. The Staff-Side members representing M/o Defence stated that they are on a hunger fast joining with the 4 lakhs Defence Civilian Employees to protest against the various decisions taken by Ministry of Defence against their interest. They lodged their protest aginst what they called ‘arbitary’ policy decisions made by the Government about outsourcing of jobs hitherto done in the ordince factories, converting Army Base Workshops to GOCO Model, closure of Station Workshops, Military Farms and Depots under Army Headquarters thereby rendering 31,000 Employees surplus including 9000 employees of Military Engineer Service, granting Uniform Allowance to the soldiers by stopping the practice of getting them stitched through almost 12000 Employees in 5 Ordnance Factories etc. This is against the assurance given by the Defence Ministry in the past to the Staff Side that the jobs being perfomed by ordnance factories would be outsourced. They also protested against the violation of the direction of Cabinet Secretary by the Ministry of Defence in that the Staff Side has not been consulted before deciding on outsourcing, closure, merger, declaring manpower surplus etc. They demanded that MoD may be directed to immediately hold discussions with the Staff Side and settle the issues in the interst of the Defence Industry and its employees
(Action: M/o Defence)
9. The Staff Side also raised the following issues:-
a) The demand of the Staff Side for extension of the date of option for switching over to 7th CPC Pay Scales from a date on which the employee got promotion/MACP is not yet settled. Necessary instructions may be issued in this regard.
(Action: Establishment Division, DoPT)
b) The Report of the NPS Committee even though submitted to the Government in August, 2017 the Staff Side is not yet given a copy of the same. The same may be given to the Staff Side and a meeting may also be held with the Staff Side by the Government before taking any decision on the recommendations of the NPS Committee.
(Action: D/o P & PW)
c) The Staff Side also pointed out what they felt arbitrariness of the decision of the Government to close down the various printing presses without even holding any discussion with the Staff Side. The employees have been asked to immediately get themselves, relived and join at faraway places. They added that assurances were given by the Cabinet Secretary at the National Council that the Government would discuss the problems faced by the staff and resolve the same in all cases when the Government decides to wind up any of its functions.
(Action: M/o Urban Development)

10. The Chairman stated that he has taken note of all the concerns expressed by the Leader, Staff-Side, Secretary Staff-Side and the other representatives of the Staff-Side. He stated that the work on finalizing the comments on the Agenda for the meeting with the National Council, JCM has been going on and another two weeks would be required to finalize the comments and thereafter the convenience of the Cabinet Secretary would be sought so that the meeting of the Standing Committee can be held in the month of February, 2018. He stated that the purpose of today’s meeting was to familiarize with the issues as well as to arrive at a mutually agreed decisions as to which of them should be taken up for discussion and settlement at the NAC so that the first meeting can be convened at the earliest. He further emphasised that the items on which the Government, has held a view different from that of the 7th CPC would not be taken up for discussion at the NAC since the Government decisions on them are well-thought-out and conscious ones. However, where there is a disagreement between what has been recommended and what the 7th CPC should have recommended as part of its policy/principles would figure in NAC discussion.

11. It was seen that there are seven (7) proposed items which clearly fall within the definition of ‘Anomaly’. At the conclusion of the discussions, the following was agreed to in respect of the remaining eleven (11) items:

Item No.	Description	Decision
1	Anomaly in computation of minimum wage	In view of the response of Secretary, Staff-Side, the JCA Division will re-examine.
2	3% Increment in all stages	In view of the response of Secretary, Staff-Side, the JCA Divison will re-examine
6	Remove Anomaly due to index rationalization	In view of the response of Secretary, Staff-Side, the JCA Divison will re-examine
7	Anomaly arising from the decision to reject option No.1 in pension fixation	Sent back to Staff-Side for reconsideration of its views
10	Minimum Pension	The Staff-Side will take up this issue with the Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare separately. This will not be treated as an anomaly.
11	Date of effect of Allowances-HRA, Transport Allowance, CEA etc	Thil will be taken up separately as an item in the Standing Committee meeting
12.	Implement the recommendation on Parity in Pay Scale between Sr. Auditors / Sr. Accountant of 1A & AD and organized Accounts with Assistant Section Officer of CSS.	As this was already under examination in the Department of Personnel & Training it would not be taken up for discussion in NAC at this stage. If it remains undecided at the later stage, it will be included for discussion in NAC.
13	Parity in pay scales between Assistants/ Stenographers in field/ subordinate offices and Assistant Section Offices and Stenographers in CSS	The Staff-Side, NC (JCM) will provide additional details
15	Technical Supervisors of Railways	The Staff-Side, NC(JCM) will take up this issue at the Departmental Anomaly Committee of Ministry of Railways.
16.	Anomaly in the assignment of replacement of Levels of pay in the Ministry of Defence, Railways, Mines etc in the case of Store Keepers.	The Staff-Side, NC (JCM) will take up this issue at the Departmental Anomaly Committee of Ministry of Defence. JCA Division will write to Ministry of Defence in this regard.
18.	Anomaly in the grant of DA instalment w.e.f. 01.01.2016	In view of the response of Secretary, Staff-Side, the JCA Division will re-examine.

12. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE PRE-NATIONAL
ANOMALY COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL (JCM) HELD ON 11/01/2018

S.No.	Staff-Side	Official-Side
1	Shri Shiv Gopal Misra	Shri G.D. Tripathi
2.	Shri M. Raghavaiah,	Shri Amar Nath Singh
3	Shri Rakhal Das Gupta	Shri Harjit Singh
4	Shri J.R. Bhosle	Ms. Sujasha Choudhury
5	Shri Guman Singh	Ms. Nirmala Dev.
6	Shri C.Srikumar	Shri Jaya Kumar.G.
7	Shri K.K.N. Kutty	Shri A.K. Jain
8	Shri Sankara Rao	Shri Charanjit Taneja
9	Shri R. Srinivasan	Shri Rajeev Kumar Bahree
10	Shri R.P. Bhatnagar	Shri Ram Gopal

7TH PAY COMMISSION LATEST NEWS: PANEL FORMED TO FIX PAY STRUCTURE

7th Pay Commission : Government decided to set panel to hike employees salary | Oneindia News There is good news on the 7th Pay Commission. The Finance Ministry is set to hike the salaries of Central Government employees. 7th Pay Commission: Latest news, panel formed to fix pay structure Now a panel has been formed to decide on the pay hike. The panel is expected to give its report in six months time. The panel is expected to be headed by Pradeep Kumar Sinha, the Cabinet secretary. An official announcement to this effect is expected soon. The job of the panel would be to recommend the new pay structure. The panel will have officials from the Home and Defence Ministry, department of personnel and training among others. A decision on the pensioners too would be taken. The government does not want any further speculation on the matter. There are deliberations and discussions on in this regard. A source said that the government wants to close this matter once and for all. The government is also aware that this issue matters to a large section. There are 1 crore people who will be affected by this decision. Both CG employees and pensioners put together account for at least 1 crore people. This is a huge vote bank and for the 2019 elections, this is an important issue. With talks of the elections being advanced, the pay hike may come in April. Most of these people are unlikely to vote for the NDA if a pay hike is not effected. CG employees and pensioners were unhappy with the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. The government had recommended it with 34 modifications. All sources indicate that the hike will come in April. However there would be no arrears, the sources also confirmed.
https://www.oneindia.com/india/

7th Pay Commission: Minimum wage hike soon to become a reality, impacting 48 lakh employees

 

Seventeen months after the 7th pay commission recommendations were announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament, the Modi government is now working to transform minimum wage hike into a reality. Once the minimum wage hike is in place, it would touch the lives of 48 lakh government employees.  According to reports, the minimum wage hike would be helpful for lower-level employees across grade 1 to 5.

According to reports, an official in the FM office said that the government is committed to increasing the minimum wage of central government employees. Furthermore, reports say that the government is trying to hike the minimum wage in pay with fitment formula 3.00 times of basic pay of 6th pay commission.
The new scales would increase the entry-level basic pay to Rs 18,000 from Rs 7,000. For Class 1 officials, the starting salary would be Rs 56,000. For the highest level, which is Secretary, it would go up to Rs 2.5 lakh from Rs 90,000.
However, government employees have been urging for a hike in minimum pay for Rs 26,000, with a fitment formula of 3.68 times.
In June 2017, the Union Cabinet had approved CPC recommendations with 34 modifications, adding Rs 30,748 on the exchequer.
All allowances are given effect from July 1, 2017.
Including the 48 lakh central government employees and 58 lakh pensioners, the 7th Pay Commission recommendations would affect more than a crore employees.
 https://www.blogger.com/blogger.

7th Pay Commission: Pay hikes set to affect from new financial year

 

New Delhi: The lower-level employees working with Central government will get a boost in their pay starting in new financial year, as pay hikes take effect.

The government should not have broken FM Arun Jaitley ’s promise with respect to Parliament.

The government was committed to raising the minimum pay from Rs 18,000 per month, with the increase of fitment factor, under Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s promise for hiking salaries of lower-level employees beyond the 7th Pay Commission recommendations in Rajya Sabha on July 19, 2016.
There is a proposal under consideration for raising pay of lower-level central government employees upto the pay matrix level 5 from current fitment factor 2.57 to 3.00, but the central government employees unions are demanding for hike fitment factor 3.68 and minimum pay above the current Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000, a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, The 7th pay panel recommended minimum pay Rs 18,000 per month while the maximum pay from Rs 2.5 lakh, with a fitment factor of 2.57 times of basic pay of 6th pay commission uniformly for replacing the 6th pay commission pay scales, which was got cabinet nod on June 29, 2016.
A union leader said, it would help lower-level employees pay for necessities, where rising costs have long outpaced pay increases for the central government employees.
“The political parties have created a system where the government pays employees less but need them to spend more,” said the leader. “That causes middle-class families to fall down the economic ladder. It’s the reason our middle class is shrinking and the reason we are facing the largest gap between upper- and lower-income in India since Independence.”
The government formed the National Anomaly Committee (NAC) in September 2016 to resolve pay anomalies, following the promise of the Finance Minister Jaitley. The minimum pay Rs 21,000 with fitment factor 3.00 was likely to be given nod by the NAC in last year.
In the meantime, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a letter on October 30, last year 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 NAC, which hurt the central government employees, and debate now continues on whether government should respect FM Jaitley’s promise of increasing pay for employees, the government official said.
He added, the government should not have broken FM Jaitley’s promise with respect to Parliament, it now falls the Finance Ministry, to make good on FM’s pay hike pledge, so the ministry is mulling to increase the pay of employees, who get salaries from pay matrix level 1 to 5, from April, ignoring the DoPT letter on October 30.
http://www.tkbsen.in/2018/02/7th-pay