SEVENTH PAY COMMISSION POISED TO HIKE PAY WITH EFFICIENCY

New Delhi:The government appointed Seventh Pay Commission reviewing central government employees’ pay and allowances, is now preparing to hand over the recommendations to the Finance Ministry within the coming two months, an official for the panel said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Seventh Central Pay Commission Chairman Justice A K Mathur

“It’s fair to say that the pay panel have identified a number of efficiencies,” the official told on Tuesday.

He said rather than hiking pay and allowances, the panel was focused on making them more efficient, modern and valuable to central government employees.

The Seventh Pay Commission, headed by Justice A K Mathur was created in February 2014 to tackle the thorny issues of central government employees’ pay and allowances, which became unsustainable to employees for inflation increases.

The commission’s recommendations will be submitted to the government no later than December 31, and will be made available to the public and the central government employees at the same time, the official said.

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is expected submit its expenditure in the budget 2016-17 and to request to the parliament at around the same time for passing it. The recommendations are not expected to be accounted for, before the budget, the official said.

The commission’s report will include the recommendations and how they would be implemented, as well as draft legislation and a discussion of the costs of each recommendation.

The cabinet will have to evaluate the commission’s recommendations or ask the Secretaries group for more evaluation. However, the government is scheduled to implement it from the budget 2016-17.

“It is our hope that recommendations will be passed during the budget 2016-17 season,” said official, noting that parliament can’t bar the government from hiking the salaries and allowances of central government employees.

The official said there is a perception that the commission was created to hike salaries and allowances for central government employees but the commission has actually focused on “efficiency, technology, skills and Pay link with productivity.”

The government constitutes the Pay Commission almost every 10 years to revise the pay scale of its employees and often states also implement the panel’s recommendations after some modifications.

As part of the exercise, the current Pay Commission holds discussions with various stakeholders, including organisations, federations, groups representing civil employees as well as defence services.

The Sixth Pay Commission was implemented with effect from January 1, 2006, the fifth from January 1, 1996 and the fourth from January 1, 1986. The Seventh Pay Commission will be implemented with effect from January 1, 2016.