Iesa Hopes For Better Pay Deal

The Indian Economic Service Association (IESA) is expecting that the committee which will go into the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission report will give its officers better working conditions with ample opportunities to rise to the highest posts in the government.

In a statement issued yesterday, IESA general secretary Arun Kumar Jha has said the Fifth Pay Commission has recommended encadrement of some senior level posts which is expected to bring some relief to the service. Jha was also one of the speakers at the meeting of the Confederation of Central Government Employees who had last week criticised the recommendations of the commission, which has failed to give the oft-repeated demand of parity of other services with the IAS.

The statement said that the IESA was unhappy that no permanent solution had been recommended to reduce the stagnation in the service and hoped that the department of expenditure would undo the injustice perpetuated on IES officers. Though the commission has recognised the importance of the IES, it has not been able to divorce itself from the generalist-phobia, the statement added. After the report of the commission was submitted to the government last month, the IESA, along with the associations of several other services, had demanded parity in salaries and working conditions with the IAS.