Expressing dissatisfaction over the modified Sixth Pay Commission award, trade unions on Thursday said it will significantly increase the difference in wages of low salaried employees and top level bureaucrats.
The Left aligned unions said one of their major concerns is the soaring ratio between minimum and maximum pay which they added would now be 1:14.
“The decision of the government on the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission is not fully satisfactory to employees. The minimum wage of a class IV employees as recommended by the commission and now fixed by the government is much less than what st aff unions had demanded,'' All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Mr Gurudas Dasgupta said in statement.
It added that “though the pay fixation formula and rate of increment have marginally been improved, it is still less than what was demanded by the staff unions.
A major concern raised by the staff union is abolition of Group D and stopping recruitment under this category and outsourcing of this class as recommended by the commission.''
Apart from this, the union fumed over the decision of government to pay only 40 per cent arrears this year and 60 per cent next fiscal. They demanded entire payment of arrears in this fiscal.
Echoing a similar view, Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers' Secretary, Mr K K N Kutty said: “We are really disappointed because our suggestions have not been accepted including minimum wage of Rs 10,000, 5 per cent rate of incremen t as in case of PSUs, making 40 per cent fitment.
Mr Kutty said, “There is a sharp disparity between fitments of 12 per cent to 180 per cent among the pay scales. Moreover the minimum wage and maximum wage ration has increased from 1:10 to 1:14, which is not acceptable.''
CITU Secretary, Mr Tapan Sen also showed discontentment over the pay commission award. He said, “The government needs to review this as the gap between the pay of the lowest and highest member of hierarchy has increased drastically this time.''
However Joint Consultative Committee Secretary, Mr U M Purohit said, “With the elections coming near day by day, this is the best done for the central government employees.
As far as abolition of Group D is concerned, their class has been changed with better pay. But they would do the same job.