Pay panels may provide interim relief to govt staff : By Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha

New Delhi

The two panels set up by the government to review pensions and allowances are expected to announce interim relief and help blunt the criticism that the government employees and pensioners have not benefitted from the 7th pay commission recommendations.

“They are expected to announce some interim award.The government will consider them,“ a senior government official, who did not wish to be identified, told TOI. This should come as a relief to thousands of government employees and pensioners who have slammed the commission's recommendations saying the increase was paltry .Government employees and pensioners say the increase in pay and pension is limited and some employee associations have taken up the issue with the government. After taking into account dearness allowances at the prevailing rate, the salary and pension of all government employees, including pensioners, was raised by at least 14.3% as on January 1, 2016 and up to 23% in upper brackets. While assuring employees and pensioners, officials say there is a limit to which salaries and pensions of government employees can be raised.

In June, the cabinet approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission and decided that arrears of pay and pension benefits will be paid during the current financial year (2016-17) itself. The recommendations have benefitted over 1 crore employees, including over 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners, of which 14 lakh employees and 18 lakh pensioners are from the defence forces.

But the government had set up two panels to examine the Pay Commission's recommendations with regards to pensions and allowances and they were given four months' time to submit their reports.

The government has implemented one of the two options suggested by the pay commission on pensions and has allowed all the allowances to be paid at their existing rates until the panel submits its recommendations.

(Source : TNN - Toi New Delhi)