7th Pay Commission – Employees Demand not just Pay Hike – Want the Arrears too

7th Pay Commission – Employees Demand not just Pay Hike – The employees fear that government may not pay arrears on HRA and Transport Allowance.

As we know central govt employees are not happy with the recommendations of 7th pay commission, the central government employees’ unions have called for not just close to 45 percent pay hike, they would also want the arrears too be paid in full from January 1.

As per the employees’ unions, the arrears of six months, if the 7th pay commission is implemented from Jan 1 as proposed, shall not amount to much if government does not release the arrears for the HRA and Transport allowances.

The 7th pay commission was set up under the philosophy of ‘pay commission without arrears’. The employees fear that government may not pay arrears on HRA and Transport Allowance.

The Union contend that “government servants are not responsible for the delay” in the 7th pay commission’s implementation, and government must pay the arrears on all accounts from the date of implementation.

Notably, the recommendations of 6th Pay Commission were implemented and revised salaries given only with effect from January 1, 2006. But the allowances were given  only from September 1, 2008.

As per the 7th pay commission recommendations, the Central Government Employees minimum salary will rise to around Rs 18,000 from around Rs 7000, which the employees feel is too meager considering the aspect of price rise and modern day expenditures.

Source: PTI

Govt likely to implement 7th Pay Commission award around September-October

New Delhi: The Central government employees will have to wait till September-October to get higher salaries under the 7th Pay Commission.

As per a Financial Express report, government is expecting that higher salaries released around the festival period starting with Durga Puja and Diwali will boost consumption, which will have a multiplier effect on the economy. 

Though the employees will get arrears with retrospective effect from January 1, no retrospective arrears in allowances will be given. With the move, the exchequer would be able to save around Rs 11,000 crore. 

The commission had estimated the additional outgo in FY17 due to its award at R73,650 crore.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com

Is it true that BSNL is going to provide 20 GB 3G internet service for Rs.50?

BSNL, India’s biggest telecommunication company, made headlines when news surfaced that it is going to introduce 20 GB 3G internet service for as low as Rs.50.

For the past two days, this has been one of the hottest topics of discussion and much searched-for phrase on the internet.

So, how true is this news?

Despite our best efforts, there is no clarity on this issue. There has been no circular or advertisement either from the government or from the BSNL regarding this.

It is not just the internet, but the social media too that is discussing this news. Here is a summary of the news item:

    “In order to provide superfast browsing experience to smartphone users, telecom service providers are now providing 3G and 4G internet services. Meanwhile, news has surfaced that BSNL is planning to offer 20 GB 3G internet for as low as Rs.50. BSNL is going to provide the 3g services at such rock-bottom prices as part of the Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative to make the internet accessible to all. The scheme will be launched with government subsidiary. The service can be used by just one person or be shared among four.

    In the rural areas, one person in the family can obtain this service and share it with four others. According to information, the BSNL Allahabad General Manager, Ram Shubh Yadav had announced that those interested in availing this service should register themselves at the BSNL Selfcare website. The announcement or the news has not yet been confirmed or verified by the BSNL authorities.

    Currently, leading mobile telecom companies charge anything between Rs.160 to Rs.250 per GB of 3G internet. If BSNL provides 20 times the GB in less than one-fourth the cost, it will tremendously increase the company’s user base. At the same time, it also raises questions if such a move will be valid according to TRAI regulations.”

PM Modi to civil servants: Don't work in silos, be agent of change

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Partial withdrawal from NPS orders issued by PFRDA

Pay Commission : Allowances leeway to save Rs 11,000 Crore

The Centre is likely to implement the Seventh Pay Commission award from September-October, the beginning of the festive season, to give a consumption boost to the economy. However, in order to restrict the budgetary outgo, it would pay the revised allowances only prospectively, unlike the pay component that will be paid along with arrears from January 2016.

Allowances currently are roughly half of the Centre’s salary bill; as per the pay panel award, the steepest increase — 63% — was in allowances, while the overall rise in pay, allowances and pensions recommended was 23.55%.

If the revised allowances take effect only from September this year, the savings to the exchequer would be to the tune of R11,000 crore, official sources told FE. Additionally, if the railway ministry decided to toe the Centre’s line, the national transporter will save around R3,800 crore. The Budget in February had provided R53,500 crore towards the pay panel-induced overall rise in pay, allowances and pension (PAP) and also to finance the one-rank-one-pension scheme for the armed forces. The commission had estimated the additional outgo in FY17 due to its award at R73,650 crore.

The Centre’s additional bill on allowances in FY 17 due to the pay panel would have been about R22,000 crore, but since it would release allowances only from September (and not with retrospective effect from January as envisaged by the commission), the actual outgo would be nearly half that.

Some analysts reckon that the consumption stimulus to the economy from the increased pay to government staff this time around could be somewhat muted.

Compared with the Sixth Pay Commission award — which led to an overall salary increase of 40% and was released first with arrears of 30 months paid over two years — the disbursement now includes only six months’ arrears in pay, they noted. “If the pay commission’s award is implemented across the board (including state governments as well as public institutions/enterprises), it would bring in an additional 0.9% of GDP growth in FY17,” said NR Bhanumurthy, professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. Even if states lag in implementing the pay revisions, Bhanumurthy said, GDP growth still could be at least 8% in the current fiscal, up from likely 7.6% last year.

Contrary to some reports that government employees could be asked to put part of the increased salary in bank capitalistically bonds to be issued by the Centre to infuse capital in the banks, officials said there was no such move. The government would like the employees to spend additional money in their hands to perk up the economy, sources added.

The seventh pay panel had projected the railways budget would bear the additional R28,450 crore in FY17 due to its award. However, officials reckon that the actual requirement could be lower by about R3,800 crore for the railways due to prospective implementation of allowances.

Highlights

The Centre is likely to implement the Seventh Pay Commission award from September-October, the beginning of the festive season, to give a consumption boost to the economy.

Partial withdrawal from NPS orders issued by PFRDA

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Promotion of Sorting Assistants to LSG Cadre in RMS on regular basis

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Payment of DA to GDS at revised rates w.e.f 01.01.16 - DoP issued orders

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Government rolls back restrictions on withdrawal of provident fund.

The government on Tuesday announced a complete and unconditional rollback of new norms that barred employees from withdrawing their provident fund corpus before retirement, over a month after it scrapped the Union budget proposal to tax employees provident fund savings at retirement.

Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who on Monday said the new rules would be partially relaxed and their implementation deferred, announced the climb-down on Tuesday evening, minutes after his Ministry reiterated Monday’sdecision in a statement.

Protests against the new norms that started in Bengaluru on Monday turned violent on Tuesday, prompting Union Labour Secretary Shankar Agarwal to assess the situation with the PF Department by afternoon. Thereafter, Mr. Agarwal recommended that the Minister announce a complete rollback. “We are cancelling the February 10 notification [restricting complete withdrawal of PF savings] and the old system will continue. This was a demand of the workers and I have announced the roll-back in their interest,” Mr. Dattatreya said. 

He said the decision would soon be ratified by the trustees of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) soon.

Under the rules notified in February, employees were not allowed to withdraw their entire PF amount if they had quit or lost their present jobs, making it mandatory for them to wait till 58 years of age for a final settlement. Following initial protests from workers, the Ministry deferred the implementation of the rules from April 1, 2016 to May 1.

While deferring this by another three months on Monday, the Minister said the norms would be relaxed to allow employees buying a house, getting a child married and pursuing professional education and healthcare to withdraw their entire PF savings. A similar exemption was granted to employees who join a government organization.

In a statement on the rollback, the Ministry explained that the new norms were aimed at ensuring that employees didn’t fritter away their retirement savings during their working life and spend their old age in penury. “The objective was to provide a minimum social security to the workers at the time of retirement. It was noticed that over 80 per cent of the claims settled by EPFO belonged to pre-mature withdrawal of funds, treating the EPF accounts as savings accounts, and not a social security instrument,” it said.

“In order to address the issues, the amendment stated above was carried out with the consent of trade unions and with the intention of promoting a decent accumulation of provident fund for the members at the end of their working lifetimes,” it said.

EPF accounts are mandatory for firms hiring at least 20 employees and are funded by employees paying 12 per cent of their salary with a matching contribution from employers.

Under the norms that now stand reversed, employees could withdraw their own share of PF savings along with the interest on them. The balance, comprising the employer’s contribution, was to be withheld by the EPFO till the employee attained 58 years of age.

Source : www.thehindu.com