Services backtrack, say don`t need a separate Pay Commission

New Delhi: Backtracking from their earlier demand, the armed forces have told the Government that they do not want a separate pay commission and demanded that a fair representation should be given to them in the 7th central pay commission announced on Wednesday.

In a letter written to Defence Minister A K Antony, IAF Chief NAK Browne said that the forces do not need a separate pay commission and pay panel with fair representation of armed forces would help in getting a fair deal for them, Defence Ministry officials said. The IAF chief, who is also the Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee, has told Government that with an appropriate representation of armed forces in the new Pay Commission, all the issues related to the pay-parity, military service pay and rank pay issues can be addressed holistically by the Government, they said. On the issue of having a separate Pay Commission for the armed forces, the IAF chief said that this was one of the recommendations of the Group of Secretaries formed in 2008 to look into the alleged pay anomalies of the armed forces. There was a huge uproar created by the armed forces in 2008 at the time of the implementation of the 6th pay commission over the alleged anomalies in their pay strcutures in comparison with their civilian counterparts. In view of their demands, the Prime Minister`s Office in 2009 had informed the Defence Ministry that armed forces personnel would henceforth have a separate pay commission, which is delinked from the civilian pay panel. After the armed forces expressed their displeasure over the pay commission recommendations in 2008, the Government had set up a committee to address the issues. Issues related to alleged anomalies are still pending with the Government and Defence Minister A K Antony had last year written a letter to the Prime Minister over the "growing discontent" among the services personnel due to such "anomalies". PTI