SIXTH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION REPORT - COMMENTS

National Federation of Atomic Energy Employees
NFAEE
Regn.No.17/9615
Recognised by DAE vide DAE OM No. 8/1/2007 – IR&W/95 dated 13th June 2007
JCM Office, Brindavan, Anusaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094
Website: www.nfaeehq.blogspot.com
Email address: nfaee@yahoo.com

Ref.No: nfaee/sg/08/31 25.03.2008

To

All affiliates
NFAEE

Dear Comrades,

Hopes that all affiliates made arrangements to hold lunch hour protest meeting on 26th March 2008 to show the displeasure on the discriminatory recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission. A press release issued by the Confederation of Central Government Employees is given below along with the salient features of the recommendations of the Pay Commission.

At this juncture the meeting scheduled to be held at Kalpakkam may crucial. Hence those who have not booked the ticket to attend the meeting on 29th March 2008 are requested to ensure the participation of by deputing one of the Chief Executive of your organisation

With regards

Comradely yours

(Jayaraj.K.V)
Secretary General

Address for Correspondence: Jayaraj.KV, Secretary General, NFAEE
PESS/UED; BARC, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085
Tel. No: (O): 022 – 25594549; (Res): 022 – 2746 4704; (Mobile): 9869501189
Email Address: nfaee@yahoo.com, jrajkv@yahoo.com

CONFEDERATION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE & WORKERS
CHQ: Manishinath Bhawan A2/95 Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. 110027
Phlone: 25105324, Fax: 25105324, Cell phone: 9811048303
Website:www.confederationhq.blogspot.com
Email: confederation06@yahoo.co.in

PRESS STATEMENT

The Sixth Central Pay Commission which submitted its report to the Govt. yesterday has fixed the minimum wage at Rs. 5740/-only. The Central Govt. employees had demanded the fixation of Minimum wage as per the norms formulated by the 15th ILC which works out to Rs. 10,000 p.m. The computation has been rejected by the Commission on untenable and unsustainable grounds. Had the minimum wage been computed on the basis of the norms laid down by the 5th CPC i.e. the percentage increase of the Net National Product over a period of ten years, which the Govt. had accepted in 1997, the minimum should have been determined at Rs. 7400/-. Thus the minimum wage determined by the 6th CPC is even less than what had been recommended by the 5th CPC and accepted by the then Government as fair and reasonable. The Pay Commission has gone on record to state that no comparison could be made to the wages obtaining in the Public Sector Undertaking.
The first four scales of pay suggested by the 5th CPC for the Group D Employees of the Government have been now removed. The existing employees in these grades are to be moved to Group C cadres through a process of training thereby indicating that the unskilled functions in the Governmental sector would be contractorised or outsourced. On this specious plea the Commission has flaunted that the Minimum wage in the Governmental sector would hereafter be Rs. 6660 and thus calculated the ratio between the minimum and maximum wages at 1:12. The real ratio between the minimum and maximum wages has been raised from 1:11.76(determined by the 5th CPC) to 1:15.68. While huge rise in emoluments have been provided to the senior officers of the Government, the Group B, C and D employees have been totally neglected.
The Commission has been recommended to withdraw the benefit of merger of DA granted to the Govt. employees in 2004. The new fixation of pay in the revised scales of pay will be by disregarding this benefit. The proposed 40% fitment benefit will thus be reduced to 28%, when the actual fixation takes place.
The Grade pay concept has been introduced as a prologue to the introduction of a performance related pay system without specifying any objective yardstick to measure the performance. The rate of increase has been pegged down to the level of 2.5% much below even what is obtaining presently under the 5th CPC dispensation. Another suggestion is to replace the existing adhoc and productivity linked bonus with performance related incentive. The Commission has inter alia suggested for the reduction of holidays from 17 to 3 without compensatory increase in the number of restricted holidays. The present health care system under the CGHS is to be replaced by the Medi-insurance for the new entrants. The pension scheme presently in vogue for those who are recruited prior to 1.4.2004 has not been extended to the new entrants while they are perforce to contribute 10% of their salary for the new contributory Pension scheme. No doubt the Commission has kept its promise of submitting its report within the prescribed time frame and recommended that its suggestion should be made effective from 1.1.2006.
To give impetus to the policy of privatization and contractorization, the Commission has recommended for Corporatisation of Indian Railways, which employs the largest number of Central Government employees and for total outsourcing of all the Group D functions across the board in all Central establishments. In the circumstances, the Central Government employees are constrained to reject the retrograde recommendations of the Commission and demand that the Govt. renegotiate wage revision issue afresh bilaterally.
The Confederation has called upon the Central Government employees throughout the country to organize demonstration on 26th March, 2008 to register its emphatic protest over the totally unacceptable recommendations of the 6th CPC. It also calls upon the sister organizations to unitedly fight to bring about a decent wage settlement for the Central Government Employees.

K.K.N. Kutty.
Secretary General.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF SIXTH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION

1. Revision of pay takes effect from 1.1.2006.

2. The lowest pay scale is in fact Rs 4440 – 7440. The grade pay component is nothing but the 40% fitment benefit introduced while implementing the 5th CPC report in 1996. Thus in real lowest pay is Rs 4440/- not even Rs 5740/-.

3. The minimum wage is fixed at Rs. 5740/- after compounding the fitment formula. And not Rs 6660/- as is being propagated.

4. Maximum salary is Rs. 90000/- thereby bringing about the ratio between the minimum and maximum at 1: 15.68 whereas it was 1:11.76 in the case of 5th CPC.

5. The fitment formula is as under:Pay as on 1.1.2006 + 74% Pay (as DA)- rounded off to the nearest Rs;10+prescribed grade pay.( which is said to be 40% of the maximum of the pre-revised scale of pay) This means the benefit of merger of DA ( to the extent of 50% given in 2004) will not be available, thereby reducing the net benefit to 28%. The grade pay is nothing but the 40% benefit extended for fixing the personal pay while implementing the Fifth Pay Commission.

6. The proposed rate of increment i.e. 2.5% may bring about a dip in the quantum of the pre revised increment in certain cases. The demand for increment at 5% of pay stands rejected. The increment in all cases will be with effect from 1st July.

7. There is an element of performance related increase in the increment rate by 1% .This is applied initially for Gr. A officers to be extended to other grades later.

8. The Government has been given the discretion to do away with the grade pay even in individual cases as part of introduction of performance related pay scheme.

9. No change in the periodicity of payment of DA or in its methodology of computation. The index base year will be shifted to 2001 from 1982. The CPC recommended that no DA merger should be allowed hereafter. The CPC has recommended for the construction of a separate cost of living index for central government employees and frequent review index base to reduce benefit on inflation to the employees.

10. The CCA is subsumed in the Transport Allowance and the Transport Allowance is increased by 4 times. (In short the CCA has been withdrawn).

11. HRA: The following recommendations have been made: A1 cities will call X class Cities - 30% pay + grade pay. A B1 & B2 will be Y class- 20% (increase by 5%) C and unclassified will be Z Class Cities with 10% HRA. (Increase 2.5% and 5% respectively).

12. As and when the DA is increased to 50%, all allowance will be increased by 25%, i.e. only 50% neutralization in the case of allowances.

13. The adhoc and PLB Bonus will be replaced by Performance Related Incentive Scheme.

14. The women employees have been provided with staggering working hours, special leave for child care, maternity leave upto 180 days, increased working facilities like working women hostel etc.

15. In no future no non-matriculate will be recruited to the Govt. service. The unskilled jobs are to be outsourced or contractorised. Those recruited on compassionate ground without the requisite matriculation qualification will only be paid a fixed salary of Rs. 4440/-, which is below even the minimum wage of Rs. 5740/-. The period spent on this pay will be treated as training and will not be counted for any purpose.

16. Education allowance has been raised to Rs. 1000/-.

17. Persons stagnating at the maximum of the pay band for more than one year to be placed in the next higher pay band without change in the grade pay.

18. New entrants in service and new pensioners: CGHS is replaced by medi-insurance.

19. The Number of closed holidays has been reduced to three and the restricted holidays have been increased to 8. (By this 8 leave eligible has been taken away).

20. Pension: Full pension at 50% of last pay drawn or average emoluments of 10 months whichever is beneficial on completion of 20 years and above qualifying service. On attaining 80 years of age the pension would increase by 20% of Basic pension – at 85 – 30%, at 90-40% , at 95 – 50% and at 100- 100%. Commutation table revised. No change in the periodicity of pension restoration. No change in the EL encashment quantum. Full pension shall be paid for 10 years as family pension, in case of death in harness. Family pension will also get increased in the same ratio as per the age mentioned above. Ex gratia in the case of death while performing duties will be doubled. The ex gratia compensation raised to 10 lakhs in the case of employees who die in accident and 15 lakhs in the case of who lose life due to act of violence. Fitment benefits same as in the case of serving employees. Childless widow may continue to get family pension even after remarriage. Unmarried daughter will get family pension for life.

21. HBA and other Advances shall be taken away. Ministries may have tie up with Nationalized Banks to give Housing and other Loan with 2% subsidy on interest. (By this the facility for repay the principle amount in advance shall be taken away).

22. Overtime Allowance withdrawn for the employees other than operational staff covered under statutory provisions. Even the Pay commission recommended no compensation shall be paid for the work on holidays/week end holidays.

compiled by nfaee