The 7th Pay Commission report is still grabbing headlines as the various permutations and combinations are still being bandied about and discussed threadbare and now it spans a big controversy that has to do with the near monopoly currently enjoyed by the IAS and how to end it, once and for all.

Moving forward, as per the requirement of the report, the Narendra Modi government has set up a task force to review the cadre structure of all Organised Group A Central Services.

This controversy has acquired increased urgency after the turf war between the officers of the Indian administrative and revenue services (IAS and IRS) recently reached a flashpoint after several IRS officers huddled together in Mumbai last month bringing matters to a head and this set alarm bells ringing at the highest echelons of the government.

The 7th Pay Commission task force will be headed by Department of Personnel and Training additional secretary T Jacob and he will submit the report in 3 months. What he will have on his hands will deal with 4 basic factors that include 1) the ideal structure for posts of joint secretary and above, 2) percentage of reserves in organised Group A services, 3) ideal recruitment policy and 4) way forward in mitigating stagnation level.

There are 49 Organised Group A Services ranging from the IFS, the Indian Postal Service, the five Accounts services and Indian Revenue Service (IT) to the 13 engineering services under the railways, CPWD, telecom, power, water and defence forces.

This move comes courtesy 7th Pay Commission panel chairman, Justice (retired) A K Mathur calling for an end to the dominance of IAS officials. However, there were divergent views in the panel on ending the IAS superiority.

Under the scanner especially was the joint secretary-and-above-level positions in the central staff. The 7th Pay Commission threw up the data: out of a total of 91 secretary level posts, 73 (80%) were occupied by IAS; out of 107 additional secretary level posts, 98 (92%) were with the IAS and of 391 joint secretary level posts, 249 (64%) were with the IAS.

The 7th Pay Commission said IAS officers get two extra increments at promotion stages and it wanted to extend the same to the IPS and the Indian Forest Service. Other all-India services and central services (Group A) are not getting proper representation either. The IAS officers always had a two-year edge compared to other services

The solution that the 7th Pay Commission panel unveiled said that all personnel who have put in 17 years of service should be given equal opportunity for central staff. The panel was overwhelmed by the reactions of Group A Services, who demanded that the services should have equal opportunities to man the senior-most posts and it should not be the preserve of a small group.

(PTI)

Source: The Financial Express

The post 7th Pay commission latest news – Group A cadre restructure to be reviewed appeared first on CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES NEWS.

The secretary-level committee screening the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations is likely to recommend to double the percentage of pay hikes what the pay commission recommended with examining the all previous pay commissions’ reports.

The 7th Pay Commission submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in November, recommending 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay of Central government employees, which is the lowest in 70 years.

The pay commission recommended fixing the highest basic salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000and its increased the pay gap between the minimum and maximum from existing 1:12 to 1: 13.8.

Every pay commissions reduced the ratio of pay between lowest earning employees and top bureaucrats from 1:41 in 1947 to about 1:12 in 2006.

The minimum basic salary of central government employees is now Rs 7730 while maximum salary at the level of Secretary is Rs 80,000.

Accordingly, the 7th Pay Commission didn’t go on line to consider reduction in the disparity of pay ratio between its highest and lowest paid employees.

Pay gap determines the socialism view of the government and the higher number of central government employees are in the minimum pay slabs.

The pay gap increases employee’s turnover and work-related illness, with all the associated economic consequences.

The bureaucrats with high pay are generally happier, healthier and a better place to live for almost everyone in them compare to the lower earning employees.

The central government set up the high-level Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary to examine the such type of issues related to the 7th Pay Commission report.

The Empowered Committee is continue receiving a lot of submissions of employees’ associations strongly opposed 14.27 per cent increase in basic pay, which was recommended by the 7th Pay Commission.

The previous Sixth Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent basic pay hike of central government employees, which the the secretary-level committee on that time recommended for 40 per cent basic pay hike .

Accordingly, the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.

So the government believes a 30 per cent basic pay hike of central government employees is the appropriate rate, in the present scenario and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) asked the secretaries Committee to process on this way, a PMO official told us but he requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

This recommendation will now have to be considered by the secretaries Committee after the budget.

It is likely change to the hike in basic pay would be announced in April or May, he added.

The pay hike would affect the lives of over 48 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners and could trigger off similar pay hike across state governments as well.

The 7th Pay Commission has recommended a 23.55 percent hike in salary, allowances and pension involving an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore for the government, of which increase in salary would be Rs 39,100 crore, allowances Rs 29,300 crore and pension Rs 33,700 crore.

The new pay scales, subject to acceptance by the government, will come into effect from January 1, 2016.

Finance Ministry Jaitley had said that Budget for the next fiscal needs to provide Rs 1.10 lakh crore for implementing the 7th Pay Commission award and OROP.

The post Secretaries panel on Pay Commission to double basic pay percentage appeared first on CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES NEWS.