Good time: Secretaries’ panel on 7th CPC likely to hike minimum basic pay

IN A good news for tens of millions of Central government employees, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries evaluating the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission is likely to double the percentage of pay hike recommended by the pay commission.
Media reports say that...
central government employees are likely to expect basic pay hike of around 30 percent, which will be effective January 1, 2016.
The 7th central pay commission in its report submitted in November 2015 had recommended a pay hike of 23.55 percent for central government employees, with the highest basic salary at Rs 250,000 and the lowest at Rs 18,000.
The employees have been protesting that the hike in totality is only 14.27 percent, the lowest in 70 years, and are even planning to go on an indefinite strike from April 11.
In fact, even the 6th CPC had recommended a 20 percent hike on the basic pay, which was revised to 40 percent at the time of implementation in 2008.
The 7th CPC, with its recommendations, is expected to cause a burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer, which would last for two to three years.
The notification to announce the pay commission award is expected in the Union budget which the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will table in Lok Sabha on the last day of this month. i.e., February 29.
The 7th central pay commission on November 19 recommended a 23.55 per cent hike in the cumulative earnings of serving and retired central government employees, saddling the Union government with a bill of Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the next financial year. The figure of 23.55 per cent covers the increases in pay, allowances and pension.