7th Pay Commission: Latest news, big bonanza and hike for these employees

New Delhi, July 23: There is some good news on the 7th Pay Commission. While 50 lakh Central Government employees desperately await a pay hike, here is one state which has decided to give its employees a bonanza.

The state of Maharashtra has decided to give a pay hike beyond what the 7th Pay Commission had recommended. The pay hike is set to come into effect from Diwali onwards.

According to finance minister, Sudhir Mungantiwar, the state would implement the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission from Diwali onwards. This means the pay hike would come into effect from November 2018 onwards.

He also said that the 7th Pay Commission would be a Diwali gift for its employees. This decision would benefit 19 lakh people.

The decision will put a financial burden of Rs 21,530 crore on the state exchequer, Mungantiwar said. "The finance department made provisions of Rs 10,000 crore in its annual budget presented in March this year," he said.

The remaining provisions will be made through supplementary demands or in the next year's budget, he said.

The government is also considering the demand for granting child care leave (CCL) for two years (730 days) to women government employees and 15 days paternal leave for male staffers, Mungantiwar said.

The state government is also studying a proposal to start a five-day week working system for its employees, he said. "The proposal for increasing the working hours of government employees by 15 minutes against a weekly off on every Saturday is being studied," he added.

In this backdrop, CG employees continue to wait for a hike and increase in fitment factor. There is absolutely no confirmation on the pay hike, but reports suggest that an announcement relating to the 7th Pay Commission would be made on August 17.