7th Pay Commission: Central govt employees to seek update on allowances this week

The central government employees had expressed regret that the government was delaying the hike in allowances.

With the strike on May 23 being called off, the union leaders of the central government will seek an update on the 7th Pay Commission allowances from the government officials. It may be recalled that the Ashok Lavasa Committee on Allowances had submitted its report on April 27 to the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley.

Assurance by central government

The central government employees had fixed May 23 as the date to protest and had even called for a strike. However the government had assured that their demands on allowances as per the pay panel would be fulfilled.

Update sought

The employees had said that they would go on strike seeking fulfilling of their demands including a hike in allowances as per the pay panel. The central government employees would now seek an update from the government officials on the assurances that were made to them. Sources said that if they do not find the answers suitable and in case there is an indication of a delay they would be forced to protest.

Delay tactics

The employees had protested against the recommendations of the pay panel following which the Narendra Modi government had formed a committee under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa. The committee was put in charge of reviewing the suggestions.

Regret the delay

The central government employees had expressed regret that the government was delaying the hike in allowances. After the government implemented the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission from January 1, 2016 in respect of basic pay and dearness allowances, the Committee on Allowances, headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa was constituted in June last year.

Abolition or subsuming

The pay commission it may be recalled had recommended abolition of or subsuming of allowances like acting, assisting cashier, cycle, condiment, flying squad, haircutting, rajbhasha, rajdhani, robe, shoe, shorthand, soap, spectacle, uniform, vigilance and washing.

The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended abolishing 53 of the 196 allowances, and subsuming 36 other allowances. It also recommended slashing the House Rent Allowance (HRA)--for metros, commission recommended bringing down the HRA from 30 per cent to 24 per cent. The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended the rate of House Rent Allowance (HRA) be kept at 24 percent, 16 percent and 8 percent of the Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively.

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