7th Pay Commission: Lavasa Committee expected to submit report this week, will allowances be hiked from May 1?

If the report receives Cabinet nod by end of the month, the allowances would be hiked from May 1

Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa is yet to submit report on allowances (file image)

New Delhi, April 11: A vast section of central government employees are disappointed over the delay in allowance hike. Following the implementation of 7th Pay Commission in July last year, the employees have been eagerly awaiting the 23.5 per cent pay hike.
However, the effective pay hike has remained 14.3 per cent over the past nine months. Centre had decided to raise only the basic component of the salaries, while the allowances were referred to a high-level committee headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa.

From the latest that has emerged, the committee on allowances is reportedly going to submit its report this week. The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) is firm that the allowance report would be handed over by Lavasa-chaired panel to the Finance Ministry by this weekend. If the report receives Cabinet nod by end of the month, the allowances would be hiked from May 1.

The Lavasa committee was initially expected to file its report by November 2016. Since the decision was not taken, Centre provided it the extension till February. However, the imposition of model code of conduct owing to the five-state assembly elections forced the government to further provide an extension to the Lavasa committee.

The inaction taken by the government even after the upliftment of model code of conduct has distressed central government employees. “We wait for this pay hike once in a decade. We had lots of expectations. Although, the 7th Pay Commission has not lived up to what he had expected, the Centre should now atleast provide whatever has been allotted to us,” a central government employee said on condition of anonymity.

“Every section of workforce is disappointed. Some may express it, some may not. Whether it is the armed forces, civilian employees, railway employees, technicians – all are gripped with pessimism,” said NJCA convenor Shiv Gopal Mishra, while speaking to India.com. He has further threatened to launch an organised protest if Centre fails to provide arrears on allowances. “The arrears are our rights. 7th Pay Commission was slated to be implemented from January 2016. If government has failed to implement the report on the scheduled date, then they should at least provide the employees with arrears,” Mishra added.

Source:India.com