Officers Condemn Pay Panel Report, May Move Court

The All-India Confederation of Central Government Officers Association yesterday condemned the report of the fifth pay commission and urged the government to appoint an administrative reforms commission to recommend a modern administrative machinery.

At a meeting in Baroda House here yesterday, representatives of officers associations of a number of central government services were of the opinion that the confederation should move the court demanding parity in salaries with the IAS. The confederation leaders said they would meet again to discuss the future course of action after a copy of the comprehensive report was available with them.

Several speakers at the meeting also vehemently opposed the reported move to appoint an IAS member of the commission as the next expenditure secretary to ensure the implementation of the commissions recommendations.

 

Initiating the meeting, a representative of the confederation S Murali said the report was a bad blow to the group A central services since their demand for parity with the IAS had not been met.

At our meetings with the commission, we were led to believe that if not absolute parity (with the IAS), the conditions would at least be ameliorated, he said.

Krishna Saini, representative of the IRS Officers Association said the pay fixation formula of the commission was not very fair. Claiming that the report had fallen far short of expectations of the revenue service officers, Saini said this situation had resulted despite the commission having the widest scope of reference of all pay commissions.

Officers from various associations unanimously agreed that the disparity between the IAS and other services had been perpetuated by the report of the commission. One member said the recommendation of the commission of making the Indian Forest Service at par with the Indian Police Service should be taken up with the government.

How could the commission ignore the representations of several associations and recommend the parity of only IFS and IPS? one speaker fumed. Some members said the notion that the incr-ease recommended by the commission was three-fold should be dispelled since the actual increase was only about 20 per cent.

Urging the government for equality of in terms of pay and promotion to all organised group A services, including the all-India services, the meeting resolved that the member-secretary of the pay commission should be reverted to his cadre and no member of the commission should be given any employment.

The officers also agreed that the report was anti-professional and held the members of the commission individually and collectively responsible for pushing the administrative system back to the colonial era. A statement issued by the confederation at the end of the meeting stated that instead of suggesting a modern administrative machinery run by experts, the commission recommended an edge to the generalist IAS in pay scales, promotion prospects and senior posts in the government of India.

It said that the commissions claim that it had been guided by the principle equal pay for equal work was contradicted by its recommendation that the IAS be given higher pay at various levels.

The fifth pay commission, appointed by the government in 1994, submitted its report to the government last week. The report is expected to be placed before the Parliament during the forthcoming budget session.