Central govt employees seek review of minimum basic pay; demand 44% hike on 7th CPC recommendation

The brewing discontent amongst the central government employees against the 7th CPC recommendations is threatening to create a storm. The unions are seeking around 44 percent hike on the minimum basic pay suggested by the 7th central pay panel.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Implementing the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission( 7th CPC) is not going to be a cakewalk for the government.

The brewing discontent amongst the central government employees is threatening to create a storm and disrupt the implementation process. The unions are asking around 44 percent hike on the basic minimum pay suggested by the 7th Central Pay Commission.

The 7thCPC had recommended the minimum pay at Rs 18,000 and the maximum pay at Rs 250,000, but the employee unions wants the minimum pay to be hikes from Rs 18,000 per month to Rs 26,000--a rise of around 44.4 percent.

The unions are claiming that the pay panel has recommended the lowest hike in basic pay since independence

The Central government employees’ unions have not only demanded to increase the minimum pay of central government employees, but also want government to review the salaries of central government employees after every 5 years instead of the current 10 years.

They also want the minimum pay to be applied across all the states in the country.

The unions argue that pay scales vary from states to states. 

The unions have upped the ante on salary hike since the government set up empowered committee of secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary earlier in January to process the recommendations of the 7th CPC.

The unions had staged a 3-day agitation earlier in January, and even threatened to strike work for longer period.

Considering the impact of the financial burden on the government, the government may not be able to review the salary scale suggested by the 7th CPC.

Finance Minister had said that the recommendations of the 7th CPC would add at least Rs 1.02 lakh crore spending in 2016.