The Rail Mazdoor Union (RMU) of South Central Railway has said that the Sixth Pay Commission has flawed in constituting the DA (dearness allowance) component in the pay packet.
In a letter to the Ministry of Railways and the PMO, it said the Sixth Pay Commission had incorporated the DA with a hike of 80 per cent, while the prices of essential commodities had gone up by 230 per cent.
Union general secretary Taranikanti Srinivas pointed out that while considering the DA factor, about 251 commodities from the consumer price index were chosen, but we use only 52 daily.
“The rise or fall in other commodities does not have an impact on day-to-day life. The variation in the price of shoes or chappals may not impact a common man. But variation in the price of rice does have an impact. Rice was Rs.16 a kg when the Sixth Pay Commission was constituted and now it is Rs.43 a kg,” he explained.
“We demand that the DA composition formulae be revised every three years,” he said. The government did not notify about the date of the constitution of the Seventh Pay Commission, which, as per schedule, should be done in 2016.
