7th Pay Commission: More flaws than plus points
The much-awaited 7th Pay Commission report was submitted to the government last Thursday. The 900-page long report was perused swiftly within a day or two and criticisms have already started coming.
The very next day of submitting the report, M. Krishnan, the Confederation Secretary, gave a scathing criticism. “No other Pay Commission had submitted such a worst report,” he said. At the very beginning of the press release, he had mentioned that the backward mindset of the recommendations of the Pay Commission have been a huge disappointment for the Central Government employees.
Contrary to all the wild speculations, a raise of only 14.29 percent was finally given to the Central Government employees. This increment is akin to two installments of the Dearness Allowance. He has strongly stated that more than 50 lakh Central Government employees and members of the armed forces have been cheated.
In order to clarify the doubts that arise about the 7th Pay Commission report, one has to refer to the 6th Pay Commission recommendations. But, it also highlights the stark difference in the quality of both the reports. While the 6th Pay Commission report had clearly stated its recommendations and justifications with explanations and examples, the 7th Pay Commission report is a lifeless play of words.
The 6th Pay Commission recommended 10 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent House Rent Allowance for ten years starting from 01.01.2006. The intention behind reducing it to 24 percent, 16 percent and eight percent was not explained. Despite being very well aware of the fact that the recommendations will be in effect until 2026, the fact that the Pay Commission had tried to reduce the allocation has left the Central Government employees greatly disappointed.
MACP Promotions: Among the biggest disappointments of the 7th Pay Commission report is the fact that promotions, which are given once every ten years, so not earn any substantial benefits for the employees. They stand to gain only 3 percent hike. Another painful observation is the fact that the gap between Grade Pay 2800 and 4200 has been completely reduced.
The next big disappointment is the method of calculating the dearness allowance. This was one of the much-anticipated parts of the report. There is no clear explanation as to the reason why changes had to be made in the CPI IW BY 2001=100 method, or the 115.76 Factor.
On top of it all, the commission has introduced a new “Pay Matrix.” Our expectations of a detailed explanation about it were never fulfilled. 3 percent of the amount has been rounded off and given for each CELL.
In short, the 7th Pay Commission report is on the receiving end of lot of criticism. Central Government employees are now hoping that the Centre would intervene and do something positive for them.