7th Pay Commission: Crucial update, govt has not withdrawn discussions on pay hike

The good news is that there has been no formal proposal by the Government of India on the withdrawal of discussions regarding the 7th Pay Commission. The proposal is still being worked on and some announcement regarding this is round the corner.

Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley who was away due to poor health is back at work now and wants to revive the discussions, a top source told OneIndia. Jaitley had promised that the issue would be looked into and he would not go back on his word, the source also said.

Currently, the government is battling the cash crunch which has been widely reported. This is a crucial issue that would need to be dealt with on priority. On the other hand, preparations are underway to revive discussions regarding the pay hike for CG employees, the source also said.

When the discussions resume, there would be a decision taken on Jaitley's promise following which the CG employees who get salaries from pay matrix level 1 to 5 would be benefited.

With regard to the cash shortage which is delaying the discussions, the source said that it was a temporary problem. It would not take too long before the issue is sorted out.

In other developments, the teachers and non-teaching employees of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan held a big protest outside the KVS headquarters in Delhi through which they sought to highlight their plight. They are demanding that 7th Pay Commission recommendations must also be implemented for them. They came in big numbers from across various states to stage the protest, which was on Monday.

When the discussions regarding the 7th Pay Commission comes up, apart from the hike in basic minimum pay, the government is also expected to discuss raising the retirement age. The Madhya Pradesh government had recently decided to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62. The Centre is apparently impressed with the proposal and hopes to put in place a similar system for CG employees as well.