7th Pay Commission – After Pension, Focus Now On Allowance Report, Says Union Official

7th Pay Commission – After Pension, Focus Now On Allowance Report, Says Union Official

The pension committee related to 7th pay commission recommendations has submitted its report, Shiv Gopal Mishra, the convenor of National Joint Council of Action (NJCA), said.

The National Joint Council of Action or NJCA is a joint body of unions representing central government employees. Mr Mishra hoped that the allowance committee will also finalise its report soon. The employee representatives handed over a letter to Cabinet Secretary last week, seeking early resolution of pending demands.

Last month, the government had clarified that the allowance committee on 7th pay commission has not yet submitted its report. Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said the government will decide on the implementation on 7th pay commission allowances after the report is submitted by the committee

With regard to allowances, employee unions have demanded HRA (house rent allowance) at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent. The 7th Pay Commission had recommended that HRA be paid at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent of the new basic pay, depending on type of cities.

The government had in June accepted the recommendation of Justice AK Mathur-headed 7th Pay Commission in respect of the hike in basic pay and pension. But the Seventh Pay Commission’s suggestions relating to allowances were referred to the Ashok Lavasa committee. The Seventh Pay Commission had examined a total of 196 existing allowances and, by way of rationalisation, recommended abolition of 51 allowances and subsuming of 37 allowances.

The 7th Pay Commission had also recommended that the rate of HRA be revised to 27 per cent, 18 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively when DA crosses 50 per cent, and further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when DA crosses 100 per cent.

The government had also constituted a separate committee for suggesting measures for streamlining the implementation of National Pension System (NPS).

Source: NDTV