Shocking! 7th Pay Commission recommends abolition of overtime for government employees

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The speculations and frenzy around 7th Pay Commission is refusing to come down, with reports pouring in the media every other day about newer angles to it.

Fresh in the buzz is that the 7th Pay Commission has recommended that over time, the time spent beyond stipulated work hours, be abolished for government employees, as per a report in the Hindu.

The Pay Panel's recommendation is grounded by the fact that overtime allowance has increased from Rs.797 crore to Rs.1,629 crore between 2012-13.

The Panel has also observed that the main focus should be on improving the “productivity and efficiency” thereby applying “stricter” control on the Centre’s expenditure under the head, the Hindu report further said.

The government has earlier stated that implementation of new pay scales recommended by the 7th Pay Commission is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, or 0.7 percent of GDP, on the exchequer in 2016-17.

Meanwhile, a secretaries group, which was formed to study the recommendation of 7th Pay Commission is ready with its review. But it will submit its report once the elections get over.

The government had set up a high-powered panel headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to process the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission which will have bearing on the remuneration of 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.