Oppn. in Punjab turns up heat over pay scales to new recruits

AAP, SAD term the order ‘anti-employees’, demand ‘White Paper’ on new jobs

CM Amarinder Singh.

After the Punjab government decided to offer pay scales to the new recruits in the State government on the Central government pattern, the Opposition parties have turned the heat on the Congress. They are terming the move ‘anti-employees’ and demanding a ‘White Paper’ on the jobs given by the Amarinder Singh government in its present tenure.

The main Opposition, the Aam Aadmi Party, has demanded an immediate withdrawal of the order, terming it an ‘anti-employee’ decision. Senior party leader and MLA Aman Arora said the decision to implement the Central pay scales in Punjab would mean a drastic cut in the salaries of the newly recruited employees. “Employees across Punjab have already been forced to take to the streets against the excesses, injustices and anti-employee policies being meted out to them under the high-handedness of the government,” he alleged.

Another AAP MLA, Meet Hayer, said the government should issue a ‘White Paper’ on how many jobs had been offered to the youth in the State so far under the Congress’ much-hyped poll promise — ‘G

har-Ghar Naukri ’ (job in every household).

Punjab Finance Department had last week issued an instruction, stating, “The State government, after careful consideration, has decided that pay scales admissible to all prospective appointments — direct recruitments/compassionate appointments — in any cadre of any administrative department or the entities there under shall not be higher than the pay scale admissible to the said cadre in the Government of India.”

Pay scales of the Punjab government employees are higher than their equivalents at the Centre.

Shiromani Akali Dal also opposed the decision and accused the State government of failing to safeguard the interests of its employees. Party spokesperson N.K. Sharma, said, “... it is shocking to see that the Punjab government is continuously taking decisions to cause maximum damage to the interests of the government employees. The government has already delayed the Sixth Pay Commission and has failed to give pending dearness allowance to the employees.”

“We will oppose this anti-employee decision, which is set to harm the interests of the newly recruited employees. If the Congress wants to save the government money, then it should curtail its expenditure on Ministers and others,” he added.