7th Pay Commission: All is not lost, hopes of CG employees to revive in December

Central Government employees awaiting good news on the 7th Pay Commission may still have a small ray of hope. The salary hike has been delayed and this has led to immense frustration among the CG employees.

While the government has categorically stated in Parliament that there is no proposal to increase the pay or fitment factor, the employees have said that they would not give up until their demands are met.

A top source confirmed to OneIndia that the matter is not dead as yet. The deliberations and discussions are still on. When asked about the government's comment in Parliament, the source said that at that point in time there was no proposal. However with the pressure increasing the demands rising the discussions on this front have begun again.

The issue is not dead and there is no need to lose hope. First on the discussion table is to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62. This is on priority, the source said. While no final call has been taken, the Madhya Pradesh model is being studied. The feasibility will be taken into account following which a decision would be made, he also said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced that it would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 to ensure that the employees get all the benefits due to them.

When the source was asked for a time frame as to when the retirement age and salary hike issues would be resolved he said that it may be done by December. When asked if the salary is hiked would there be arrears he said that that would be decided at a later date? Whether to give arrears starting April 1, 2018, or not is something that the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would take a call on. Jaitley had assured in Parliament that there would be more good news on the 7th Pay Commission. He is, however, undergoing treatment and serious deliberations would begin once he is back, the source also added.