Pay Panel Report Criticised For Pro-Ias Bias

The All-India Confederation of Central Government Officers Association, the umbrella forum of group `A Central services of professionals, engineers, doctors and scientists, yesterday criticised the Fifth Pay Commission report for allegedly trying to perpetuate a pro-IAS generalist cult, and demanded several amendments.

Releasing a rejoinder to the report here, R K Gupta, its president, said the commission had meted step-motherly treatment to these officers and questioned its very expertise for the job it was entrusted with.

The rejoinder, which was submitted to Prime Minister I K Gujral two days ago, said the three-member pay commission was hardly an expert body as its chairman had no control over its secretariat and the part-time economist member himself confessed to be a total outsider.

The IAS member-secretary of the commission virtually ran the forum as a one-member show, alleged M K Mishra, the associations former president.

The aggrieved officers demanded that the principle of delinking pay and post, recommended by the commission for up to the director level, should be extended to the highest pay scale.

Gupta quoted various sections of the report to prove his contention that wherever the wage panel accepted sound proposals, it did so only half-way.

The commissions recommendation for withdrawal of promotion to cadre posts below the joint secretary level from the purview of the UPSC was also a half-way approach as delays occur in promotion to higher levels, he said.

The group A officers demanded that the Central deputation at higher levels should not be the virtual monopoly of the IAS and said the Central staffing scheme should be implemented in letter and spirit.

With two improvements full neutralisation of price rise at all levels in future, as recommended by the commission, and delinking of pay and post upto the highest level the task of the future pay commissions will also become simpler, Gupta said.

The officers of the group `A services, which includes railways, telecom, customs and Central excise, statistical department and health services, also termed the commissions recommendation of 30 per cent across-the-board reduction of manpower as unfeasible and undesirable.

If any service has definitely got excessive number of officers, it is the IAS, the rejoinder said.

Gupta said the commission overlooked the demand for parity between the IAS and engineering, medical and scientific services, for which there are tougher modes of selection.

No doubt, doctors and engineers in the group `A service feel constrained to migrate to other countries resulting in brain-drain, or to even opt for group `B services at times, he said.