Employees agitated as govt refuses to raise minimum pay kike
26 Mar 2018
Central government employees are in no mood to accept the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations after the government refused to raise the minimum pay hike to Rs21,000 against the Rs18,000 that the pay panel recommended.
Minister of state for finance P Radhakrishnan’s clarified in the Lok Sabha that the Narendra Modi government is not considering any minimum pay hike beyond the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.
"The minimum pay of Rs18,000 per month and fitment factor of 2.57 is based on the specific recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission in the light of the relevant factors taken into account by it. Therefore, no change therein is at present under consideration," Radhakrishnan told the Lok Sabha.
He was replying to a question by Samajwadi Party MP Neeraj Shekha?r, "whether government is actively contemplating to increase minimum pay from Rs18,000 to Rs21,000 and fitment factor from 2.57 to 3, in view of resentment among central government employees over historically lowest increase in pay by 7th Central Pay Commission."
This means that the 5 million government employees who have been eagerly waiting for the much awaited pay hike are now disappointed.
Meanwhile, the National Joint Action Council's (NJAC) Shiv Gopal Mishra, who led the negotiation over 7th Pay Commission on behalf of central government employees, has expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s decision and said the struggle for higher minimum pay will continue.
“The employees are agitated. There is a tremendous amount of disappointment. I can assure you that the demand to raise the minimum pay has not been forfeited. We will continue our struggle in an organised manner. If negotiations fail to bring the result, the option of agitation cannot be ruled out,” Mishra said.
Currently, central government employees get basic pay according to the fitment formula of 2.57, and if this is raised to 3, it will come as a massive news for the Central government employees.
Fitment factor is a figure used by 7th CPC with which the basic pay in 6th CPC regime (i.e Pay in Pay band + Grade pay) is multiplied in order to fix basic pay in revised pay structure (i.e 7th CPC). Fitment factor formulated by 7th CPC is 2.57.