Terming the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission as the worst in the history of the Central Pay Commission in the last 70 years, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said on Thursday that it was
Terming the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission as the worst in the history of the Central Pay Commission in the last 70 years, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said on Thursday that it was a total let down for the 47 lakh government employees and 53 lakh pensioners in the country.
“It is unfortunate that the employees who were given 40 per cent hike in their respective pay in the past by previous governments, have now been recommended only 14.27 per cent hike. This is unjust and humiliating for the beneficiaries,” said the former Union minister.
Mr Maken said the BJP-led Central government is trying to throttle the government employees to help the private sector. “At present the pay ratio between the lowest and the highest paid employees is 1:12, which will now be 1:13.8, thus widening the gap between the lowest and the highest paid employees, including the paramilitary and armed forces. Even fixation formulae of fitment factor of 2.57 is not the same for all lower category employees, while for the higher level it is between 2.62 to 2.81, giving more weightage to higher level employees.”
Noting that the Federation of Government Employees, which includes employees of railways, civilian employees of ordnance factories, post and telegraph, has decided to go on strike from July 11 to express their resentment, he said: “We support them and hope that good sense will prevail and the government of India will review the decision.”
To a question about the recommendations with regard to the armed forces employees and whether Congress supported them, he replied in the affirmative. “It is not that the armed forces are getting more and the others are getting less. The armed forces are in certain ways bigger sufferers,” he remarked.
Making a strong pitch for a better deal to the government employees, he asked, “If you do not have the best brains working in the government, then how can you expect government or the government employees to protect the country’s interests vis-a-vis the multi-nationals in this era of globalisation ”
