7th Pay Commission – NJCA Chief demands Arrears on Higher Allowances from January 2016 till date of Implementation

7th Pay Commission – NJCA Chief demands Arrears on Higher Allowances from January 2016 till date of Implementation

Almost 10 months have passed since Narendra Modi government accepted the recommendations made by the 7th Pay Commission but the decision on minimum wage and Higher Allowances are still in the pipeline.

The Committee on Higher Allowances which is dilly-dallying on taking a final call on arrears and Higher Allowances has upset a large number of central government employees who are eagerly waiting for their just dues.

The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) – a centralised union of several central government employees unions – has been vocal for raising the issues related to minimum wages, arrears on higher allowances, HRA (House Rent Allowance), National Pension Scheme and much more.

Shiv Gopal Mishra the NJCA convenor who recently met with the Cabinet Secretary who is looking into the anomalies of 7th pay Commission had made it clear that the central government employees who are eagerly waiting for their hiked salaries are also expecting arrears on higher allowances from January 2016 till the date when 7th Pay Commission is implemented.

“I have met the Cabinet Secretary on March 28 and have submitted our demands. In which the NJCA has clearly mentioned that whenever there is an implementation of 7th Pay Commission the government has to pay higher allowances effective from January 2016. If the government fails to do so then we will object it in an organised manner,” Shiv Gopal Mishra said. However, Shiv Gopal Mishra who has been actively raising several issues denied of carrying out any agitation if their demands are not met.

While implementing the recommendations made by 7th Pay Commission, the Union Government had promised to pay hiked salaries with arrears effective from January 2016 but the Cabinet had not taken any call on higher allowances, whether it will be paid from the date of implementation or January 2016.

During the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary has also given a hint to Shiv Gopal Mishra that there are chances that the decision of implementation of 7th Pay Commission and higher allowances might be taken after MCD polls in Delhi is over. Some reports suggest that by a delay in higher allowances the government had already saved more than Rs 100 crores and if the committee takes more time than there are chances that these employees unions may call for a strike.

More than 56 lakh central government employees and 46 lakh pensioners have been eagerly waiting for the implementation of 7th Pay Commission. After the Union Government had increased the minimum wage from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per months the NJCA had recommended minimum wage to be hiked to Rs 25,000 per month. For raising this issue several NJCA members and its convenor Shiv Gopal Mishra also met three Union Minister’s – Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu – and they assured that their demands will be met.

In a meeting with Cabinet Secretary, Shiv Gopal Mishra also raised the issue of HRA (House Rent Allowance) and National Pension Scheme (NPS). Mishra said that the HRA must be based on an old formula and transport allowance must be calculated according to inflation. The NJCA also demanded that Children allowance must be kept at least Rs 3,000, medical allowance must be kept Rs 2,000 for central government employees.

Source: India.com