Sixth pay commission: New pay brings cheers, and disappointment too

NAGPUR: The decision of Maharashtra government to implement the recommendations of the sixth pay commission has brought cheers to many staffers
and disappointment to some others. However, what had not been foreseen was discontent in certain sections despite hike in salary as some would reportedly benefit more than others.

A quick check at the Nagpur district collectorate on Thursday revealed that many were not as happy as had been anticipated. And the reasons are different. For one, a few top officials claimed that while they will get a 20% hike in salary, the monthly remuneration of some at the secretariat level in Mumbai has actually trebled!
“Besides, if we are to move away from the city to rural areas, or are transferred, the hike will be much less because we will then be deprived of city allowance and higher rate of HRA. And that is not all. Tehsildars, naib tehsildars and circle officers have been brought under the same category although they belong to classes I, II and III respectively,” said an official.

But, by and large, the news was received with a broad smile. N L Sawarkar, an active member of Nagpur Zilla Parishad Employees Association, said, “The decision is definitely welcome. Some anomalies might arise, but they could be ironed out. However, high-rank officials have benefitted more than those in the lower rung. We wish to take this up with the authorities concerned. We wish to pursue this line of action in a proactive manner in co-operation with central government employees who got a raw deal like us.”

Satish Joshi, general secretary of Class III Revenue Employees Association of Nagpur district, shared a similar view. “It is welcome that the recommendations of the sixth pay commission are being implemented, but we would have been happier had our representatives been taken into confidence when the decision was arrived at. Failure to do so has caused class III and IV employees share the same payscale,” he said.

“Funds worth Rs 60,000 crore earmarked for the employees’ salary, when paid according to the new scales, will remain in the state coffers and accrue interest for the government till May, the time of actual payment. Even if the increased payscale is taken into consideration from January 1, 2006, we will be getting the extra money in five annual instalments, causing a lot of inconvenience,” Joshi added.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com