Kolkata: The sixth Pay Commission has become a distant dream for the state government employees with its implementations remaining at bay as the Mamata Banerjee government has extended the panel’s tenure for six months, leaving the state government employees’ unions furious.

The state finance department stated the extension of the tenure in its notification — effective from November 27, 2018 till May 27, 2019 — on Wednesday. The tenure of the panel headed by economist Abhirup Sarkar was supposed to end on November 27 this year.

With the issuance of fresh notification the state government employees unions anticipate that the revised payscale may not be effected even next year onwards. Dr Sarkar who is the chairperson of the pay panel said, “I can not comment on when the pay commission’s recommendations will be implemented. But the panel’s tenure has been extended.”

According to sources, the panel has so far conducted hearings of versions of 411 employees’ unions in the state apart from some corporations and boards.

Still some more hearings have been left to be conducted before the panel submits its report to the chief minister, sources revealed.

Four years after coming to power for the first time, the Trinamul Congress supremo in November of 2015 had declared of constitution and implementation of the sixth pay commission for the state government employees to bring their pay parity with the central government employees.

Manoj Chakraborty, convenor of mentor group of the Trinamul-backed state government employees’ federation, said, “The tenure extension is unexpected. I doubt those who are in the pay panel have adequate experience.” Secretary of Left-oriented state coordination committee general secretary Bijoyshankar Singha announced that the union members would organise protest from Thursday.

“The deprivation by the state government has reached its limit. The employees are angry. The chief minister has to explain this. In future we will undertake programmes to stall the administration,” he said. Debasis Seal, another employees’ union backed by the BJP, also protested the state government’s notification.