The government has been subject to media attack ever since the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission (SPC) were tabled. Every discussion seems to be centred around the financial burden to the country. No one appears to appreciate the efforts being put in by government servants towards the development of India’s economy (“Why we must not grudge them a pay hike”, Nov.24). The contribution by government servants by way of GPF is unknown to many sections. Here, the returns that accrue are based on 8 per cent interest. Only the top level of government staff has stood to gain from the recommendations. The 65 per cent hike in pay applies to only 25 per cent of the staff. The middle-level management has been ignored by the SPC even though it is the backbone of the government workforce.
A. Sowrirajan,Vayalur, Tamil Nadu
Much of the discussion has been about how implementing the Pay Commission will result in fiscal deficit. Yet, the fact is that government staff, from civil servants, to defence personnel to those looking after essential services, support a chunk of the work done in India. India faces ‘brain drain’ and if enhanced salaries and perks are not paid and provided to government employees, there is bound to be a further flight of talent. Now that there is movement on the Commission, performance-based payment of salary and incentives should be encouraged.
Ankit Galgat,Panipat, Haryana
The article should lend some balance to the highly skewed debate in the media and public sphere over the recommendations. Those who highlight the plight of unorganised workers and raise the issue of growing inequality in the context of a reasonable wage increase for the government employees are unable to see the wood for the trees. Neo-liberal policies across the world are what have resulted in 1 per cent of the super rich controlling nearly half the world’s wealth. In India too, growing economic inequalities can be attributed to such policies. As a percentage of GDP, the cost of the proposed pay hike is quite moderate. The critical reactions obviously are emotional and not based on facts.
Manohar Alembath,Kannur
What is worth noting is that with the recommended pay hike, the impact on GDP is still 0.12 per cent lower than the hike recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission. However, a comparison with the private sector brings out more subjective points than mere statistics.
First, employee accountability in the private sector is greater than in government. Second, in comparative terms, the private sector is the major contributor to GDP. Here, salaries and jobs are created out of innovations, initiatives and productivity. Any pay hike in government services will be contributed to by the private sector either directly or indirectly. The spending on government staff does not end with mere salaries. The pension burden on GDP is expected to rise to as high as 4 per cent in the next decade. Fundamentally, this is unproductive drain on the exchequer. While there may be defensible arguments for the hike, better accountability in all government jobs might help in reducing public grudge against similar pay hikes in future.
Krishnaraj Kenadath,Guruvayoor
The writer does not make a fair comparison. Government employees enjoy more paid leave than their counterparts in the private sector. Moreover, taking advantage of ILC (1957), the Seventh Pay Commission fixes the minimum wage for an unskilled government servant at Rs.18,000 a month. Under the Government of NCT, Delhi, the minimum wage for unskilled labour is Rs.9,178 a month, which is only 51 per cent of the Commission’s range.
S. Ramani,Chennai
No one denies that salaried people should be given a periodic pay revision. But government employees are more fortunate than those who work in the private sector. First, their job is highly secured. After globalisation, retrenchment is a reality in the private sector. Pension in the sector is also meagre. It is no exaggeration that a government peon draws a pension much higher than an officer in a private firm. There are also teachers in private schools who toil but are paid a pittance. Government staff need to ask themselves whether they discharge their duties honestly. Corruption and a lethargic attitude are common. At work, being disrespectful towards the public is common. Paperwork never moves unless several palms are greased. There is resentment only because there is no accountability.
V. Pandy,Thoothukudi
