In a move that will almost double the salaries
of Telangana employees, the state government announced implementation of the
pay hike recommended by the pay revision commission (PRC) with a fitment of
43%.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said at a
press conference on Thursday that the pay panel, headed by special chief
secretary to the government K Pradeep Chandra, was the first PRC of
Telangana.
"Ours is an employee-friendly government.
We have recognised the employees' role in realisation of statehood. The
notification of the implementation of pay hike will be issued on Friday which
is regarded as goddess Lakshmi's day," said the chief minister.
The pay hike, which results in an additional
burden of Rs 6,500 crore to the exchequer, will be implemented with
retrospective effect from June 2, 2014 - the day Telangana was formed. The
chief minister said that the arrears would be deposited in the employees'
general provident fund (GPF) account which fetches 8.5% interest. The revised
salaries will reach the employees beginning this March.
The announcement led to jubilation in the Secretariat and employees
celebrated by bursting fire crackers. Over 3.5 lakh government staff will enjoy
the benefit.
"We thank the chief minister for the PRC
implementation. We know this would a burden on the exchequer. We assure that
the employees will work hard to enhance revenue for the government,"
chairman of Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers' (TNGO) Association, S Devi Prasad
Rao, said.
While the 10th PRC headed by PK Agarwal had
recommended 29% fitment in its report submitted in July 2013, Telangana
employees demanded 69% and a minimum monthly wage of Rs 15,000.
The government constituted the Pradeep Chandra
committee to look into the demands of employees. After several rounds of
consultations with representatives of various employee associations including
TNGO and Telangana Gazetted Officers' Association (TGO), the committee
recommended the pay hike formula.
The chief minister said that he hurried to
announce the new pay since a notification was expected any moment for the state
legislative council elections due in March. Once the notification is issued,
the government could not have implemented the hike since the poll code will not
allow it.
While there is no mention about the demand of
the minimum wage of Rs 15,000, the CM said that the PRC would look into pending
anomalies in the salary structure. "We hope that this issue would be
addressed by the panel and employees will get their due," said chairman of
commercial tax employees' joint action committee, T Vivek.
