In a move that is expected to benefit over five lakh serving and retired government employees, the Punjab administration has decided to implement a majority of the recommendations of its sixth pay commission with effect from 1 January 2016. The decision, taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, comes in the run-up to the assembly elections in the state.
“The move will benefit over 5,40,000 serving and retired state government employees,” an official government statement said, adding that it was approved by the government despite the “precarious financial health” of Punjab.“With this decision, taken today at the state cabinet meeting, the Amarinder Singh government has fulfilled another major promise to people, despite the precarious financial health of the state,” the statement read.
In May this year, Punjab’s sixth pay commission had recommended an over two-fold jump in salaries of all state government employees, with retrospective effect from 1 January 2016. An official spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office had then said that the recommendations of the commission were likely to lead to an additional expenditure of ₹3,500 crore per annum from 2016.
1) According to a statement, the minimum pay for state government employees will increase from ₹6,950 to ₹18,000 per month.
2) The implementation will entail 2.59 times increase in salaries and pensions over the previous pay commission recommendations, with an annual increment rate of 3%, resulting in pay scales of all existing employees continuing to be higher than in neighbouring Haryana.
3) The expected amount of arrears from 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2021, is nearly ₹13,800 crore.
4) The disbursal of salaries and pensions under the new structure will begin from 1 July.
5) Under the new structure, the minimum pension will go up from ₹3,500 to ₹9,000 per month.
6) The minimum family pension will increase to ₹9,000 per month.
7) Divorcees or widows will be eligible for family pension.
8) The government has also accepted the restoration of the commutation of pension to 40% with effect from 1 July 2021.
9) Death-cum-retirement gratuity (DCRG) has been enhanced from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh and the existing rates of ex-gratia have been doubled.
10) Both the DCRG and ex-gratia have been extended to employees covered under the New Pension Scheme.
11) House rent allowance and other benefits have been rationalised under the new structure. Special allowance to chowkidars and drivers has been doubled.
12) A higher education allowance, in the form of a lump sum incentive to all employees who attain higher educational qualification during the course of employment and in the field directly relevant to an employee’s job, is being introduced by the government.
13) New employees will, however, be paid as per the central government pay scales, which now apply to all new recruits.
14) The decision will put an additional burden of ₹8,637 crore on the exchequer with a prospective additional net annual burden expected to be nearly ₹4,700 crore.
