Monday 4 July 2016

LET US FIGHT UNITEDLY TO FORCE THE GOVERNMENT TO ACCEPT OUR GENUINE AND JUSTIFIED DEMANDS ON 7TH CPC RECOMMENDATIONS.


The discontentment among the entire central government employees & Officers is emerging across the country. All the Federations, All India Associations representing the Central Government Employees and Officers of various Government organizations, with oneness condemned the Government’s decision to accept the retrograde recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. The government’s proposal to refer the issue of Minimum Wage and Fitment Formula to another Committee for reconsideration is not satisfactory.

The central government employees & Officers of the entire country under the banner of National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) and Confederation of Central Government Gazetted Officers Organisations (CCGGOO)have already decided to go for indefinite strike from 11th July 2016 if the Government does not change the adverse recommendations of the 7th CPC. NJCA & CCGGOO expressed their strong protest and dissatisfaction against the unilateral decision of the Government on the VII CPC recommendations, rejecting all the genuine and justified modifications sought for by the NJCA & CCGGOO and unanimously decided to go ahead with strike.

After the submission of the 7th CPC Report by its Chairman to the Government of India on 19th November 2015, Government constituted  Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECoS) under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary to scrutinize the recommendations of the Pay commission. The ECoS sat on the Pay Commission report more than 6 months but didn’t see any adverse recommendations.

As the Pay Commission cheated, the Empowered Committee also cheated and betrayed the Employees and knifed behind. Whenever the Leaders met either the Pay Commission or the Empowered Committee including its Chairman, they shared the concern of the employees with respect to the recommendations of the minimum pay, fitment factor etc. and assured for rectification at a certain level.

But when the Cabinet note was prepared and submitted for the consideration of the Cabinet everything became once again retrograde and not a single recommendation of financial impact has been considered by the Government. By deferring the allowance hike proposed by the seventh pay commission, by an estimate, the burden to the exchequer is reduced by 17 per cent at Rs 84,933 crores.

Thus the Government became the butcher of the central government employees. By introducing the New Pension Scheme (No Pension Scheme) the government has shown their attitude towards the Government Employees. Now they cemented their anti labour attitude by endorsing all retrograde recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.

The Cabinet Secretary and Secretaries of various ministries who all were the members of the ECoS pocketed a salary hike of 24% to 25% while awarding pay hike of a mere 14% to the Group C & Group B employees. They have not found any discrepancy in accepting even this recommendation of mere 14.2% increase in the salary of lowest paid employees against 25% to Secretaries. Thus the ratio of minimum pay to maximum from 1:12, it shooted up to 1:14. Instead of the gap being reduced, it has been further increased by the Pay Commission and without any humanitarian approach the government accepted the same. After various deductions for Medical, PF, tax, License Fee etc. the increase in the take home salary at the entry level becomes less than 8% to employees.

It is to be noted that after the independence the Government Employees got 6 Pay revisions including the 7th CPC. All Pay Commission reports have given gradual increase in the hike of salary such as 14% (2nd CPC), 20.6% (3rd CPC), 27.6% (4th CPC), 31% (5th CPC) and 54% (6th CPC). It should also be noted that when 14% hike was recommended by the 2nd CPC, the Central Government employees for the first time in the history gone for indefinite strike, when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister with a thundering majority in the Parliament. Present Government has back stabbed the entire central government employees by offering just 14.2% hike in the salary and thus a situation created just like that of 2nd CPC and compelled the entire Central Government Employees to move on indefinite strike. It is worst ever pay revision for central government employees since independence.

It is worth mentioning here that the Government owned website of Agricultural Ministry depicts the retail prices of commodities which go into the basket of minimum wage based on Dr. Akroyed formula as approved by the 15th Indian Labour Conference. If we calculate the minimum pay according to these figures, the Minimum pay as on 01.01.2015 would be Rs. 24850. To convert the same as on 01.01.2016 3% assumed DA will be added as suggested by the 7th CPC, the final computation will be Rs25596 and thus rounded off to Rs. 26000. The then Andhra Pradesh State Government has implemented the state Pay Commission which provided Rs. 22600 as minimum wage as on 01.07.2013. By adding the DA dues in between 2013 and 2015, the corresponding figure to Rs. 22600 shall be Rs. 27000 as on 01.01.2016.

The concern on Minimum pay is not the only one issue in respect of the pay revision. There are several anomalies in the recommendations of the Pay Commission and all those issues have been brought to the notice of the ECoS. But none of the issues was considered by the Committee or the Cabinet while taking decision. Recommendations on Fitment Formula, Increment rate, Fixation benefit on promotion, MACP on grade hierarchy, Pay Parity, Revision of Allowances, Leaves, National Pension Scheme abolition etc. are some of the issues raised by the NJCA & CCGGOO and their constituent units. Now the Government came out with a decision to constitute another Committee to review the recommendations on allowances. This is nothing but a gimmick to delay the implementation of the revision of allowances at a prospective date. Thus the Government will get the opportunity to avoid the payment of revised allowances from 1st January 2016 by which again will back stab the employees once again.

The Committee under the chairmanship of none other than Cabinet Secretary who should be the role model of the entire Central Government Employees could not recommend even a single correction in the discrepancies sighted out in the recommendations of 7th CPC even after sitting 7 months on that, what best can be  expected from another committee probably headed by the same persons.

·                     If the Government and the ECoS doesn’t want to revise the Minimum Pay, what was the necessity to hold the report for 7 months after its submission to the Government?

·                     Why the Government failed to give an opportunity to the leaders of the Central Government employees to present their case before taking the final decision?

·                     Why the Finance Minister who compared wrongly the number of months taken by the earlier Governments to take decision on Pay Commission recommendations forget to compare that those Governments have entrusted Group of Ministers to interact with the elected leaders of the Government employees before reaching a conclusion.

·                     Why the Government not considered to retain the ratio of minimum to maximum pay at least the existing, i.e.1:12 by awarding minimum pay as Rs. 21000 comparing the higher salary of Rs. 2, 50,000 (2, 50,000/12 = 20,833)?
·                     What is the purpose going to serve by delaying the revision of allowances than extending benefit to the employees at a later date?

·                     What is the reason not to accept the hike in the subscription in CGEGIS from the existing rate of 30, 60,120 and 240 to 1500, 2500 & 5000? The chart given below gives the answer.   If the enhanced rate of subscription for CGEGIS retained, the take home salary for the month of January 2016 for employees shall be less than the salary he/she got for the month of December 2015.
·                     Though the Government echoed the claim of the Pay commission that the central Government employees are given a bonanza of 14.2% pay hike, the factual position is that pay hike is just above 4 to 8%. That too only because the Government decided to shelve the subscription hike for CGEGIS.

The false claim and the propaganda made by the Govt. through Electronic and Print media is far from truth.The below given chart shows the actual benefit extended to the employees: 

Grade Pay
Pay as on 31.12.2015
Pay as on 01.01.2016
Difference
Increase in %
Take home salary after deduction as  on 31.12
.2015
Take home salary after deduction as  on 01.01
.2016
Difference
Difference in %
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1800
15750
18000
2250
14.2
14750
15931
1174
7.9
1900
16855
19900
3045
18.1
15794
17775
1981
12.5
2000
19035
21700
2665
14.0
17903
19285
1382
7.7
2400
22298
25500
3202
14.3
20858
22556
1698
8.1
2800
25565
29200
3635
14.2
23467
25075
1608
6.8
4200
30375
35400
5025
16.5
27506
30027
2521
9.1
4600
38565
44900
6335
16.4
34538
37326
2788
8.1
4800
40838
47600
6762
16.5
36489
39234
2745
7.5
5400
49725
56100
6375
12.8
43123
45051
1928
4.5
6600
57038
67700
10662
18.7
48669
53249
4580
9.4

          From the above chart it can be seen that more than 50% of the increase proposed by the pay revision is taken back by various deductions. Columns No. 4 & 7 in the above chart indicates the hike in salary based on the pay commission proposal and after the deductions respectively and the columns 5 & 9 shows it in percentage. In actual the increase in take home salary shall be just 4% to 8% in almost all the pay structures announced by the Government and not that of 14.2% or 23.5%.

·                     The pay hike given to the employees based on the recommendations of the 6thCentral Pay Commission is almost equal or nearer to that of the 7th Central Pay Commission. At the lowest grade in fact the pay hike given by 6th CPC is higher than that of 7th CPC. The hike in salary by 7th CPC at the entry level pay with Grade Pay of Rs. 1800 is Rs.2250 per month, whereas in the lowest grade in the pre revised pay of Rs. 2550 – 3200,  after the implementation of 6th CPC Report, got the hike of Rs. 2257. It should be noted here that the 6th Pay revision was carried out 10 years back in the year 2006 and DA component has been added @ 125% as on 1st January 2016. So if that DA component is added to the increase in hike of the 6th CPC, minimum hike should be more than Rs5000 (2257 X 125%) at the entry level.  The chart given below shows the discrepancies in the hike in salary. The columns 5 and 9 of the chart given below shows the hike in figure and the columns 6 and 10 shows the increase in % respectively during 6th CPC and 7th CPC.

COMPARISON OF PAY HIKE AFTER 6TH CPC AND 7TH CPC
Pay  after Fixation based on 6th CPC
Pay after fixation based on 7th CPC
Basic Pay
Pay as on 31.12.2005
Basic X 1.86
PAY AS ON 01.01.2006
DIFFERENCE IN PAY
Pay as on 31.12.15
Pay as on 01.01.16
DIFFERENCE IN PAY
PB + GP
Total
In Rs
In %
Basic X 1.25
As per Pay Matrix
In Rs
In %
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2550
4243
5200 + 1800
7000
2257
53.2



15750



18000



2250



14.2
2610
4855
5200 + 1800
7000
2145
44.2
2650
4929
5360 + 1800
7160
2231
45.3
2750
5115
5530 + 1800
7330
2215
43.3
3050
5673
5830 + 1900
7730
2057
36.3
16855
19900
3045
18.1
3200
5952
6460 + 2000
8460
2508
42.1
19035
21700
2665
14.0
4000
7440
7510 + 2400
9910
2470
33.2
22298
25500
3202
14.3
4500
8370
8560 + 2800
11360
2990
35.7
25565
29200
3635
14.2
5000
9300
9300 + 4200
13500
4200
45.2
30375
35400
5025
16.5
5500
10230
9300 + 4600
13700
3070
30.0
38565
44900
6335
16.4
6500
12090
9300 + 4800
14100
2010
16.6
40838
47600
6762
16.5
8000
14880
15600 + 5400
21000
6120
41.1
49725
56100
6375
12.8
10000
18600
18750 + 6600
25350
6750
36.3
57038
67700
10662
18.6

          Under these circumstances the central government employees & Officers were left with no other option than to protest unitedly against the Government‘s decision. The NJCA & CCGGOO thus decided to continue the struggle against the unilateral and arbitrary decision taken by the Government to accept the recommendations of the 7th Central commission Report.

          It is for the first time after independence, the entire central government employees & Officers from Railways, Defence, Postal, Income Tax, Central Excise, Audit & Accounts, Atomic Energy, Space, Civil Accounts, Central Secretariat,  Ground Water etc. came together and unanimously decided to go for industrial action against the decision of the Government.

It is the high time for more unity and joint struggle. There should not be any excuses for not joining in the main stream of the movement. Running away from the unity is nothing but stabbing behind the colleagues. Keep away all differences, ideological or personal and become part of the united movement of the Central Government employees & Officers under the banner of NJCA & CCGGOO to fight against our dictatorial government.

          We appeal all Central Government employees & Officers to join in the struggle by participating in the INDEFINITE STRIKE from 11th July 2016. Don’t sit on the fencing and be onlooker of the historical struggle. Be a part of the struggle for protecting our existence, for upholding the self-respect of each and every central government employee. Surrendering to the authoritarian government will lose the dignity of each and every employee.


Let us fight unitedly to force the Government to accept our genuine and justified demands on VII CPC recommendations.

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