6th Pay Commission recommendations: Revised salary from Nov l Uncertainty over arrears

6th Pay Commission recommendations: Revised salary from Nov l Uncertainty over arrears

PANJIM, SEPT 25 — The Goa Cabinet today took the much-awaited decision to implement the 6th Pay Commission recommendations.
The actual payment through monthly salary under the revised pay scales will commence from November 2008.
Addressing a press conference in the city, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said, “the Government in principle decided to implement the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission from November 2008”.
The revised pay scales will be implemented in respect of all the Government employees and those serving in aided-institutions (teaching and non-teaching staff) with effect from January 1, 2006.
Replying to queries, Kamat couldn’t give a clear picture over payment of arrears.
Sources in the Government, however, told Herald that the arrears for the period 1-1-2006 to 31-8-2008, for employees appointed prior to August 5, 2005, will be credited to their GPF Account in three equal installments with a lock-in period of three years. In the process, this will become a loan to the State Government carrying interest applicable to GPF (presently it is 8% per annum).
There are nearly 7,000 new employees appointed on or after August 5, 2005 who are covered under the New Defined Pension Contribution Scheme and they do not have a separate GPF account, the sources said.
For them, a separate account would be opened under the Public Account to deposit their arrears in three equal installments with a lock-in period of three years.
Kamat announced that the arrears for September and October will be disbursed later after making a budgetary provision in the Supplementary Demand for the current year.
The total financial implication including the two years arrears would be around Rs 700 crore.
The additional expenditure this year itself would be around Rs 150 crore, he claimed adding the additional burden would be approximately Rs 25 crore per month.
Asked how the Government intends to pay the arrears, Kamat said that his officers are working out the modalities.
He also looked non-committal when asked whether the arrears would be credited to GPF.
To a question whether the recommendations would be accepted with effect from January 1, 2008, he said, “Let us see we are still working on it.”
Asked what he means by word “in principle approval” here, Kamat said that the recommendation has various minute things which are being studied by the Government.
“The recommendations were for Central Government employees and the State is examining whether those things can be implemented here,” he said.
When asked whether the State had the finances to pay or would go in for a loan, Kamat replied we have not decided on that as yet but ruled out taking any loans for the purpose.
“We will have to take ‘some saving’ measures by curtailing expenditures”, he maintained.
We have taken some measures in this regard like the fixation of land rates for stamp duty etc and are trying to get in some more revenue, he added.
Meanwhile, sources told Herald that modalities would be worked out for which a meeting will be held next week.
Directorate of Accounts will be asked by the Government to compile arrears for the period from 1-1-2006 to 31-10-2008 by end of the year.
Sources said the 6th Pay Commission will not be made applicable to employees governed by UGC and AICTE scales.
TA: The employees will also be entitled to traveling allowance in place of CCA (City Compensatory allowance).
PARITY: The sources said that there’s a high possibility that pay fixation for those employees who enjoy upgraded pay scales (excluded) will be done corresponding to their pre-upgraded scales. With this, the Government intends to bring parity in pay scales as it has been a long-pending demand of Goa Government Employees Association.
However, sources say, this will not be an easy task as strong lobbies are working to retain the upgrades scales.

Source: http://oheraldo.in