The decks were cleared for the State government to announce pay revision for its staff after the Election Commission on Sunday expressed ‘no objection’ to the government’s request, but laid down a condition that “no undue publicity be given to it to gain political mileage” in view of the model code of conduct in force for by-election to Nagarjunasagar Assembly constituency next month.
The government had earlier in the day requested the EC to be allowed to announce acceptance of Pay Revision Commission (PRC) report by extending immunity from code of conduct. The development paved the way for Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to make an announcement on pay revision when he replied to the debate on budget in the Assembly on Monday afternoon. He had said in the Assembly on Wednesday that he will himself announce the same in the House after the results of elections to the Legislative Council were declared. He maintained that the pay pack would be respectable and pleasing to the employees.
Pay revision for government staff was due since July 1, 2018, and caused severe unrest among them, particularly after the first PRC headed by a retired IAS officer C.R. Biswal fixed a fitment of 7.5 per cent on basic pay a few months ago while the unions bargained 63 per cent hike, much higher. At 7.5 per cent, the burden to the exchequer was estimated at ₹ 2,252 crore. The commission was also said to have recommended extension of age of superannuation of staff from 58 to 60 years and reduced the house rent allowance payable in four categories. It defended 7.5 pre cent fitment on the ground that the salary and pension bill of the government had mounted from ₹ 16,378 crore in 2014-15 when Telangana State was created, to ₹ 35,282 crore in 2017-18.
The employees took to the roads near the Secretariat in protest but Mr. Rao, in a trouble-shooting mode, invited leaders of employees’ unions and told them that their pay would be more than one or two per cent higher than their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh. The AP government had announced 27 per cent interim relief to its employees in July 2019, a year after it’s own PRC recommendations lapsed.
On the contrary, the employees had gone into a tizzy when Mr. Rao announced 43 per cent hike immediately after TRS rode to power in 2014. The then PRC headed by P.K. Agarwal had recommended 29 per cent fitment when it submitted its report to the erstwhile AP government three days before bifurcation of the State on June 2, 2014.
On Mr. Rao’s instructions, a three-member committee headed by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar was constituted to negotiate with the unions. After the panel completed the talks, the code of conduct for Legislative Council elections came into force and resulted in a stalemate in implementation of pay revision. This again led to anguish among employees, but TRS leaders pacified them during election campaign.
A purported deliberate leak by the government that it was willing to concede 29 per cent hike to staff created furore in political circles that the code of conduct was violated. It also became an issue in Council polls.
