'Curtailing employee benefits': Trade unions raise displeasure over Central Pay Commission's ToR

NEW DELHI: Trade Unions CITU and AITUC have claimed that the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the eighth Central Pay Commission (CPC) were restrictive and argued for a more lenient approach even as it linked the ten-month gap between the announcement and the actual constitution of the eighth Central Pay Commission to elections in Delhi and Bihar respectively.

The unions said the announcement of the CPC was made in January before Delhi Assembly elections while it took another ten months for the Modi government to appoint a Chairperson and members this week to time it with Bihar polls, which will make the employees “wait for almost two years” to get any benefit.

CITU General Secretary Tapan Sen said in a statement on Thursday that the ToR raises “serious doubts” about the “very intention” of the government aimed at furthering austerity measures detrimental to the legitimate interests and entitlements of employees and economy at large.

AITUC General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said in a separate statement that the ToR restricts the CPC by mentioning economic conditions, fiscal prudence, ensuring adequate resources for developmental expenditure and welfare measures, terms which Sen said would have “negative impact” on the upward revision of the pay, perks, pension and other benefits.

“All these come to the mind of the government only when it comes to giving any benefit to employees and pensioners. Such conditions and fiscal prudence are never considered by the Modi government while giving concessions and writing off of loans of corporates...or reduction of taxes on the corporates,” Kaur said.

Sen added, “the union government which has doled out lakhs of crores of rupees to corporate, domestic and foreign companies through Production Linked Incentive, Capex Incentive, Employment Linked Incentive,  Electronics Components Manufacturing Incentive and other concessions…is trying to curtail the entitlements and benefits of the employees.”

Kaur also demanded that the CPC should recommend a minimum wage so that the Government employees who come through various competitive examinations lead a decent and dignified life at a time expenditure on IT, children's education and health care have risen and been privatised by the government.