New Delhi, May 08: Good news regarding the 7th Pay Commission has played hide and seek with the Central Government employees.
While the larger concern has not been addressed, there are some incentives and hikes here and there which have been announced. The last ray of hope was the last Cabinet meeting that was held before the model code of conduct came into place.
However that saw no announcement for the Central Government employees who have been demanding a pay hike from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000. OneIndia spoke with several officials who have been handling the issue to understand what the trend is expected to be on the issue of a hike in basic minimum pay. They say that the trend will be positive over the next year. They say that recently the government had decided to give hikes based on the more CG employees study. This was followed by an announcement in which it was said hikes would be given to around 9 lakh CG employees. This hike would be applicable to the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force(CISF), ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police), Service Selection Board (SSB), Indian Railway employees, ITS and those who are on deputation to BSNL. What one must understand here is that the issue is being dealt with in a phased manner. The government is not addressing the issue in one go as it could take a heavy load on the exchequer. To sum it up, the issue is not dead and the CG employees must lose hope. The government has decided that it would address the issue in a phased manner and fully resolve the pending issues in the next four to six months, the official also noted. Once the long pending issues are addressed, then the government would move towards a different pattern to award hike in salaries to the CG employees. Their performance would be reviewed on a year to year basis instead of waiting for pay commissions to be set up and make its recommendations. This would ensure a sustained growth in the salaries of the CG employees, the officer further explained. In a nut shell, what CG employees must note is that all hope is not lost on the 7th Pay Commission. There would be good news, but it would be in a phased manner.