Suggestions - Eastern Railway Engineers' Association
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Sixth Central Pay Commission:Suggestions
User Name: Eastern Railway Engineers' Association New Delhi
Comparison with public/private sectors
Should there be any comparison/parity between pay scales and perquisites in Government and the public/private sector?
Today we are living in an era of globalization and free economy. Therefore, each and every organizations are competing with each other with respect their quality of product as well as services in accordance with international standard so that customers / consumers can' be satisfied up to the highest level. To cultivate good product or service all organizations have to establish a perfect environment of work along with excellent human resource provided by sufficient scope of career development. Even government organizations too, are changing their policies in the same line as other non-government organizations to fulfill the need of market economy. Thus to achieve meaningful competition, fair comparison amongst the organization in government & non-government sector is quite natural. Hence comparison or parity between pay scales and perquisites in government as well as public /private sector is not a matter of individual choice rather it is a natural out-come of market economy.
Is it possible to quantify all other benefits, excluding pay, derived by employees in Government and the public and private sectors from security of tenure, promotional avenues, retirement packages, housing and other invisibles? In view of these benefits, can there be any fair comparison between the salaries available in the government vis-ŕ-vis the salaries in the private sector?
Quantification of all other benefits, excluding pay derived by employees in government and the public or private sectors from security of tenure, promotional avenues, retirement packages, housing as well as other invisibles etc, mentioned in the questionnaire can't be viewed separately unless its implications on employee are analyzed in the light of market economy and socio-economic structure of our country. But as far as benefit concern, there are several goods and even bads running in both government or non-government organizations to assure their survival in the competition of market economy so that the quality of product & services can' be made up to the highest level with excellence of performance rendered by most excellent workforce of respective organization. In addition to that, benefits given to government employees are mostly visible and taxable too, in comparison to several invisible non-taxable benefits or fringes of employees serving in private or corporate sectors and thus government servants are the highest individual taxpayers in our country. Hence keeping in view of all these things fair comparison between the salaries available in the government vis-a-vis the salaries in the private sector is a natural process caused by market economy and globalization.
In order to ensure a fair comparison based on principles of equity and social justice, would it not also be appropriate to take into account the economic conditions of large sections of the community that are less privileged than Government employees and many of whom live below the poverty line?
Now a day everyone expects excellent service quality and promptness from the employee serving in government sector as per the available international standard in vogue, comparing them with other private or corporate sector. But when question of pay determination comes by fair comparison based on principle of equity and social justice, factors like economic condition of large section of less privileged community or people living below poverty line etc. are seen. As if these parameters are only applicable to find out the salary of employee serving in government sector except those who are serving in private or corporate sector. Even recently government of India has once again increased the allowance of ministers & MPs while they are already getting several non-taxable benefits or privileges and then nobody has thought those factors raised on the questionnaire. Therefore considering the economic condition of our country, it should be more appropriate to establish an environment where all organizations either in government or non-government sector will follow an uniform policy to determine salary or perquisite by comparing parameters such as — Nature or Volume of a job, Occupational hazards or Risks involved in a job, Working environment, Individual work load & Responsibility, Individual skill & Qualification, Individual accountability, & Social impacts etc. among them. Conclusion: I feel that India government should immediately make an attempt to establish an integrated salary policy so that all organizations belong to government or non-government sectors can follow the same to determine their salary or perquisite from maximum to the minimum limit without creating social imbalance.
International comparisons
Some countries have raised civil service pay scales almost to levels prevalent in the private sector on the hypothesis that a well-paid bureaucracy is likely to be honest and diligent. To what extent would such a hypothesis be valid and how far would such a course of action be desirable?
Today we have to come across competition in every walk of our life. Thus the competition itself provokes comparison and the globalization indulges international comparison. But as long as the competition of any kind restores the interest of a country without creating much of social imbalance, the subject is desirable and acceptable too. Therefore consideration of international comparison to determine pay scale of civil servant, under the hypothetical perception that a well-paid bureaucracy is likely to be honest and diligent, depends on the socio-economic structure of a country and thus country will decide the acceptability limit of any kind of such comparison.
Impact on other organizations
Salary structure in the Central and State Governments is broadly similar. The recommendations of the Pay Commission are likely to lead to similar demands from employees of State Governments, municipal bodies, panchayati raj institutions & autonomous institutions Their paying capacity is considerably limited. To what extent should this factor be considered in devising a reasonable remuneration package for Central Government employees?
As we all know, job evaluation is the only way to determine the pay of any category belong to any organization and the job of a government organization is to serve the people of either a whole Country or a particular State in accordance with the policy framed by the particular government to fulfill the developmental need of the society. Therefore it is evident that the service rendered by the State government employee affects the people residing in a particular State only. But the service of Central government employee affects the people of the whole country and thereby confirms the larger volume of their jobs than that of the State government. Hence the contribution as well as dedication of central government employee engaged in various departments such as - Indian Railways, Defense, CPWD, MES, BARC, BEML, & ISRO, etc. should not be overlooked simply by reminding the issue of similar pay structure of employees working under State government and its financial implication over State economy.
Salaries
How should we determine the salary to be paid to a Secretary in the Central Government? Please suggest an appropriate basic pay for a Secretary? Can appointment to this post be made on a contractual basis where salaries and tenure are linked to the performance in terms of achieving defined targets?
Secretaries are the highest official authority appointed by the government to negotiate with various functions related to Finance, Business, Industry, Education, Transport, Rural development, Foreign affair, & many more. To perform his functions properly secretary used to organize an office of respective ministry and establish necessary co-ordination amongst the department at his disposal so that government policies can be properly circulated for implementation and its impact on the people can be made available with necessary feed back. Hence the job of a secretary involves mostly mental labour as compared to physical labour and requires fair amount of patients, concentration, intelligence, honesty, diligence, loality, & presence of mind, etc. Thus the quantum of human energy consumed with respect to time to fulfill the need of secretarial job will determine the salary of a Secretary. As the job of a Secretary in the central government directly influences proper functioning of a particular ministry resulting in adverse impact on common people, they may be put to appoint on a contractual basis where salaries and tenure are linked to the performance in terms of achieving defined targets.
What should be the reasonable ratio between the minimum and the maximum of a pay scale?
As long as we belong to present system, similar ratio of minimum to the maximum of ile may still be continued.
Is it necessary to persist with a pre-determined minimum-maximum ratio on ideological considerations? Or is it more important to ensure efficient administration by preventing flight of outstanding talent from Government?
U No further comments on this issue
Relativities
Employees in the Secretariat and analogous establishments are entitled to higher pay scales than the corresponding field functionaries. This was supposed to compensate them for the loss of certain facilities available to them in field assignments and the extra effort required for decision-making at the policy level. Are these factors valid even today particularly in the context of decentralization and devolution of administrative powers? Is this discrimination between field and secretariat functionaries even justified today?
Salary is the evaluation of effort put in by an employee to a particular job over a specified period of time. Thus employees of a particular category engaged in a similar kinds of job over a specified duration for which they are posted, will get similar pay scales and those employees of the same category if put to work in the field other than their original position, they may be allowed to get extra benefit other than salary for their extra effort Hence there is no question of "Relativities" or entitlement of higher pay scales to employees in the secretariat as well as analogous establishments than the corresponding field functionaries. Rather an arrangement of administrative rotation may be allowed to exercise between secretariat to field and vice-versa within a specified interval of time to fulfill the apathy of secretariat employees to get extra benefit.
Group-A Services
Is there a case for a Unified Civil Service, merging therein all Central (both technical and non-technical) and All India Services, allowing vertical and horizontal movement ? Or should there be two distinct streams, one embracing all the technical services and the other for non-technical services?
Unification of civil service merging therein all central and all India service both in technical & non-technical cadre, should not be encouraged to restore professional standard of the service. Rather there should be two distinct streams for technical and non-technical services each.
Do you feel that the pattern of pay scales for all Group A Services should be redesignated so as to attract candidates of the requisite caliber? Keeping in view some of the compensation packages being offered to fresh professionals by the private sector, what emoluments would you suggest for an entrant to a Group-A Service in Government?
Higher compensation package for scientists in certain specialized streams / departments like department of space, department of atomic energy, etc. may be allowed to provide considering their contribution in the respective field they are working and the reasonable package in their case should be determined through an appropriate evaluation of their job as well as the impact of their research on the people of our country.
Professional personnel
Should there be a higher compensation package for scientists in certain specialized streams/departments like Department of Space, Department of Atomic Energy? If so, what should be the reasonable package in their case?
Higher compensation package for scientists in certain specialized streams / departments like department of space, department of atomic energy, etc. may be allowed to provide considering their contribution in the respective field they are working and the reasonable package in their case should be determined through an appropriate evaluation of their job as well as the impact of their research on the people of our country.
Classification of posts
Presently, civilian posts in the Central Government are classified into four Groups (A, B, C and D) with reference to their scales of pay. The Fifth Central Pay Commission had recommended their reclassification into Executive, Supervisory, Supporting and Auxiliary Staff. Would you suggest any changes in the existing classification or should the classification recommended by Fifth Central Pay Commission be adopted with/without modifications?
It is better to reclassijy civilian posts in the central government instead of Group-A, B, C, &D, etc. to eliminate the essence of British era and to influence the sentiment of the employee only in the performance other than useless ego of group-ism. Hence the reclassification as recommended by the Fifth Central Pay Commission may be adopted with slight modifications. In case adoption of reclassification is found to be impossible, we suggest inclusion of supervisory cadre in Group-B status.
Restructuring of Group C & D posts
Should all lower Group C functionaries in the Secretariat be replaced by multi-functional Executive Assistants, who would be graduates and well versed in office work, secretarial skills and use of modern office equipment including computers? Should Similar arrangements can be evolved for Group C posts in other organisations of Government?
In few situations where it is truly essential to provide prompt service, the replacement of lower Group-Cfunctionaries in the secretariat by multi-functional executive assistants may be applicable provided those replacements should be found as much as possible from the existing functionaries.: In few situations where it is truly essential to provide prompt service, the replacement of lower Group-Cfunctionaries in the secretariat by multi-functional executive assistants may be applicable provided those replacements should be found as much as possible from the existing functionaries. In similar situation only in case of office work as above, multi-functionaries may also replace Group-C Posts in other government organizations with similar condition mentioned earlier.
Should a similar regrouping of Group D staff into fewer categories capable of performing diverse functions also be carried out?
No such regrouping ofGroup-D staff into fewer categories capable of performing diverse functions as Group- C staff is necessary.
Pay Scales
How should a pay scale be structured? What is a reasonable ratio between the minimum and maximum of a pay scale?
Any organization whatever it may be, is composed of different kinds of activities such as - Production / Maintenance, Operational, Commercial, Administrative/ Personnel, Financial, Managerial, etc. and these activities itself decide nature of jobs in an organization thereby producing various categories. Therefore the structure of a pay scale should be determined on the basis of jobs in a particular category and its proper evaluation in accordance with the volume as well as the risk or responsibility of the job in that category.Pay Scales differ from category to category and therefore to determine reasonable ratio of minimum to maximum of a pay scale in a category it is very necessary to know the promos ional pattern as well as designation-wise distribution of man-power for a particular job of a category in an organization. Therefore, in general it may be better to maintain a reasonable ratio of either 1:2 or 1:1.6 whichever is best suited for an organization as per their existing situation.
The successive Pay Commissions have progressively reduced the number of distinct pay scales. The number of scales has therefore come down from more than 500 scales at the time of the Second Central Pay Commission to 51 scales before Fifth Central Pay Commission, which was brought down to 33 scales by the Fifth Central Pay Commission. The reduction in the number of pay scales brings in attendant problems like the promotion and the feeder grades coming to lie in the same pay scale, etc. Do you feel whether the existing number of pay scales should be retained or increased or decreased or whether the same should be replaced by a running pay scale?
The successive Pay Commissions have progressively reduced the number of pay scales in the name of rationalization & relativities etc. ignoring the existing job pattern of various categories in central government organization and thereby disturbed the existing balance in a category of an organization. Thus while merging different pay scales, necessary care should have taken by the previous Pay Commissions to avoid attendant problem like the prommossion and the feeder grades coming to lie in the same pay-scales etc. considering nature / volume of job, its eligibility criteria, responsibility involved, etc. Therefore considering all these things decrease of few specific pay scales may be entertained carefully by necessary job evaluation.
Increments
What should be the criteria for determining the rates and frequency of increments in respect of different scales of pay? Should these bear a uniform or varying relationship with the minima and/or maxima of the scales?
We feel that the criteria for determining the rates and frequency of increments in respect of different scales of pay should be 1) Nature of job, 2) Risk or responsibility involved, 3) Designation-wise distribution of man power for a particular job of a category 4) Promotional pattern & Length of pay scales, etc in an organization. Normally these should bear a uniform relationship with the minima & maxima of the scales. But to encourage efficiency of manpower, these should bear a varying relationship too with the maxima of the scales in some specific cases. Even provision of advance or additional increment may be thought off to support extraordinary effort of an employee.
Revision of pay scales
Is there any need to revise the pay scales periodically especially when 100% neutralization for inflation is available in form of dearness allowance?
Dearness allowance compensates the deviation of market price caused by inflation, which on the other hand is being calculated on the basis of wholesale price index instead of consumer price index thereby causing a differential paradox. Therefore the demand of 100% neutralization for inflation by DA is an absurd imagination and the question of requirement in periodical non-reversal of pay scales doesn *t arise at all
How should pay be fixed in the revised pay scales? Should there be a point-to-point fixation? If not, please suggest a method by which it can be ensured that senior personnel are not placed at a disadvantage vis-ŕ-vis their juniors and due weightage is given for the longer service rendered by the former
The basic principle of pay fixation should be such as to protect senior personnel from disadvantage of becoming looser in pay to their juniors after fixation. In last recommendation of pay commission, fixation calculation was found by providing one increment against every three increments in the period of service rendered by an individual Therefore, this time it should be so as to calculate by providing one increment against every two increments in the period of service rendered by an employee of the organization for better return.
Compensatory Allowances
Is City Compensatory Allowance a sufficient compensation for the problems of a large city? If DA and HRA provide full neutralization, do you think CCA should continue? Is there a need for changing the basis of classification of cities and the rates of CCA? If so, please suggest the revised basis and rates.
Today in India character of all cities are changing very rapidly by virtue of free economy and the cost of leaving in large cities are too high to compensate especially with the tiny package of CCA. Even in most of the cases DA & HRA can't provide full neutralization at all and hence the Allowance should continue. However a slight modification may be assumed so that high paid or extra-high paid executives can be prohibited to get CCA under revised pay scales. Quality of life in a city i.e.- Cost/Quality ofLandA Residence, Food, Cloth, Transport, Education, Health & Medical care, Primary essential infrastructure le. Roads, Electric supply, Water supply & other high-tech transport (Tube rail, Mono rail), Environmental protection, etc. may be the subject of concern to revise the basis of classification of cities and the rates of CCA may be enhanced accordingly by three times of the present rate.
Pay and perquisites for Armed Forces
What should be the basis for determination of pay scales for Armed Forces Personnel? What percentage weightage should be assigned to (i) parity with civil services, (ii) comparison with private sector, (iii) special and hazardous nature of duties, (iv) short career span and (v) restricted rights?
Both the external as well as internal security of our country lies on the shoulder of Armed Forces personnel and in addition to that they play a vital role during any kind of natural disaster in any part of the country. Hence their jobs involve dedication / sacrifice, extra-ordinary labour / hardships, risks / hazards, restricted rights, & short career span, etc. and should be evaluated properly for determination of suitable pay scales for them.
How should the pay of a soldier, sailor and airman be determined? How should it relate to the minimum wage in Government and the pay of a constable in paramilitary or internal security forces?
No further comments on this issue.
Abolition of feudalism
Should all vestiges of feudalism in the country like huge residential bungalows sprawling over several acres, large number of servant quarters, retinues of personal staff, bungalow peons, use of uniformed personnel as batmen or on unnecessary security or ceremonial duties etc. be abolished? Please make concrete suggestions.
All vestiges of feudalism in the country should be stopped immediately to save money of this country.
Specific proposals
In what manner can Central Government organizations functioning be improved to make them more professional, citizen-friendly and delivery oriented?
The function of Central Government organization can be improved by the following manner. a) By introducing time-bound target oriented job allocation mechanism. b) By better monitoring and bench marking. c) By introducing proper co-ordination amongst inter-related departments. d) By introducing feedback (Le. complaints) monitoring cell e) By reducing extra- heaviness of management personnel f) By improving decision making capacity of Executives. g) By introducing an intermediary cell of experts between financial functionaries and field functionaries to avoid un-necessary delay due to financial concurrence. h) By introducing flexible, interactive, & easy relationship between Executives and other subordinates to work as a team, i) By changing government policy for making Executives accountable & active instead of passing instructions only.
Please outline specific proposals, which could result in: (i) Reduction and redeployment of staff, (ii) Reduction of paper work, (iii) Better work environment, (iv) Economy in expenditure, (v) Professionalisation of services, (vi) Reduction in litigation on service matters, (vii) Better delivery of service by government agencies to their users.
