As mentioned earlier by this blog that Six Pay Commission is taking various case studies before comming to any conclusion. The Commission is now studying the various Terminal Benfits of the Central Government Employees to study Long Term Measures for Achieving Reduction in the Liability of the Government towards Terminal Benefits of Central Government Employees.
The study is being conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore and is expected to be completed within a period of 7 months by September 2007.
Complete detail is available at http://india.gov.in/govt/cpc_studies.php#3
now they are trying to make our lives miserable even after retirement.
ReplyDeleteThe purview of the pay commission should be limited to have the studies and analysis with regards to the Feasibility of Pay packages to be given for employees. None of their studies and approach indicate that they are working in that direction. They are simply working to Please chiddu who is anti employees. This commission it seems should be named as "Sixth Pay deprive commission"????
ReplyDeleteSPC is working as per Chiddu's directions of giving short term increasing and making short term policies which would make all increase 1 square. SPC is more of a Sixth Pay Cut Commission (SPCC) as it seems to be going. It seems they have all got mad.
ReplyDeleteThey have already launched new pension scheme. But it seems SPC is for terminating the pension at all. Chiddu wants all benefit/increase of pay only for Minister and Secretaries from a cut of salaries of lower class employees.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell terminal benefits being given. Pension is just a excuse for paying meagre salaries. Government employees are living like beggars.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell terminal benefits being given. Pension is just a excuse for paying meagre salaries. Government employees are living like beggars.
ReplyDeleteA Government which cannot pay it's employees well, can't be expected to do welfare of rest of the citizens.
ReplyDeleteMR. FM says he is doing welfare by giving pension and CGHS facilities. What the hell these facilities are. For the first you have to wait for whole life and for the second you can't wait. Both these facilities are useless. Stop pension and scrap CGHS and make the lowest payscales of government employees from 20,000 onwards. That would be better. Because the pension u give is just a beg and the CGHS facilities, not to mention is of no use. But, govt. employees are forced to use, as they can't afford good quality private health services. That's why the health standards of going down day by day of govt. employees. There is no use of meagre pension and lowest standard health services. SCRAP THEM AND INSTEAD PAY US SOME GOOD MONEY.
ReplyDeleteTOO LONG TO SEE ANY LATEST UPDATES MANISHA???
ReplyDeleteMANISHA ANY NEWS ON IR??????
ReplyDeleteFOOD FOR THOUGHT: For a Government which can’t pay reasonably (rather better) and do justice and welfare for it’s employees, there is serious doubt that it would be able to do justice and welfare of rest of the citizens. Mr. P. Chidambaram think about it, before Congress losses all over India (already the alarming bells are ringing in several recent State election results for Congress) and it throws you out of your job.
ReplyDeleteIf somebody knows about Justice B.N.Srikrishna, Chairman of the Commission?? Is he pro-employee or anti-employee???
ReplyDeleteComparison with public/private sectors
ReplyDeleteShould there be any comparison/parity between pay scales and perquisites in Government and the public/private sector?
Gone are the days when the public sector was the only option for the best and brightest. Government should now be thinking in trms of the war for talent and how to stop losing senior officers to corporates. The question should be whether you wish to attract as high quality staff in the public sector as you have in the private sector. If you wish to attract comparable people and retain them within the higher civil services, parity in compensation is critical. If not equal, it should at least not be too far below what staff could obtain in the private sector. Especially, in Group A services, you cannot have similarly qualified people drawing a fraction of their private counterparts.
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-à-vis the salaries in the private sector?
Security of tenure appeals only to less qualified and mediocre staff. Gone are the days of lifelong employment and certainly nobody wants to work for Government simply for charity when even their basic needs cannot be met. REtirement benefits are inconsequential - those earning lakhs of rupees in the private sector can easily save enough in their serving years to more than meet retirement requirements. Government perks like pensions, security of tenure and poor quality housing only attract subordinate and clerical staff. For professionals and senior officers, cash in hand and monetary benefits are more useful. The housing provided (D type, Ctype, etc) is so poor, its best to sell this real estate off nad provide a better cash house rent to employees. It would save on maintenance and PWD as well.
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?
Lets face it, we are not in a socialistic country anymore. Indian economy is booming and you need to be able to retain high qulaity talent in Government. If social justice is so concerning, please ensure that private sector also caps salaries. There is no longer any privilege assocaited with being a Government employee at senior levels, rather people look down upon with you suspicion that either you do not have the merit to get other jobs or are corrupt.
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?
This is critical and unavoidable. If a person is not financially secure and cannot meet the demands of modern living especially when he belongs to a premier service, how can you expect him to be honest and diligent. Look at Singapore. You don’t have to match the private sector but at least pay half or 75% of those levels and not these abysmally low levels. Also, there should be a wider dispersion between the bottom and top of the pyramid, from entry level to Cabinet Secy is only 5 times! Entry level employees are probabbly too well paid while seniors are working for charity or corruption. This dispersion should be at least 50 to 100 times. This would also reduce the financial burden of increasing salaries across board.
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?
Do away with all these distinctions, Group A, Group B, state, local, central etc Delink various tracks and let them decide what they want to pay and what they can afford. after all, MPs just vote for their own salaries. The best method would be to pay based on roles and not create standard grades/scales. For example, a Joint Secretary to Government could be benchmarked against his peers in the corporate sector and paid accordingly. Similarly, a clerk or a peon should be benchamrked against his peer group. There are several HR consultants like Hewitt who can benchamrk each role. They can also devise a system of fixed plus variable salaries based on incentives for productivity. Do away with DA etc, just tie annual increases to performance reviews and make sure there is a fair way of doing this.
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?
The variable salary or incentives should certainly be linked to performance and achievement of targets. A Secretary to Central Govt should be paid more than what a typical CEO makes in the private sector, which means a few crores a year. At any rate, a Secretary should at least make 25 to 50 times of what he presently makes. Appointments should be based on selection after calling for applicants and matching skills, experience etc
What should be the reasonable ratio between the minimum and the maximum of a pay scale?
There should be no pay scale. Decide entry level salaries for each stream, ministry, service and then give annula increases and bonuses based on performance. Or have pay scale system only for class 3 and 4, clerical levels. For senior services, have a completely non grade based system.
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?
It is ridiculous that the cabinet secy gets only 5 or 6 times of what a clerk gets, it should be at least a 100 times. Get rid of this socialistic baggage if talented employees are to be retained. The ideology referred to here is a thing of the 60s and even Russia disowns it.
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?
Since field jobs are more cutting edge and can lead to hardships - and also because there is a shortage of staff at the field levels - field jobs need to have extra allowances. However, if we move to role based pay rather than scale based, the distinction between field and secretariat jobs becomes redundant.
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?
Merge everything and select employees for each role by experience, specialisation, skills, interviews, tests etc. Complete movement and flexibility should be allowed but subject to matching skills and experience.
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?
Absolutely, at present only provincial town people from the backward states are taking up civil services because the best qualified go to to the private sector or abroad. You don’t have to equalise and pay as much as the private sector pays but at least the difference should be not too large (half or 75% but not as at present 1/20th). An entrant to Group A should get the average package obtained by an IIM graduate in the previous year and these details can be compiled each year from the IIMs. That would mean an all inclusive package (incl pension contribution, housing allowance) of Rs 8 to 10 lacs.
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?
This should be benchmarked by HR consultants to peers outside GOvt and should be role based - if that means paying higher package, so be it.
Classification of posts
Presently, civilian posts in the Central Government are classified into four Groups (‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘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 should be classified into Management (most Group A), Executive (all Group B and some C) and Support (most Group C and all Group D) staff.
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?
Excellent suggestion. We should also stop the culture of chaprasis.
Should a similar regrouping of Group D staff into fewer categories capable of performing diverse functions also be carried out?
Absolutely.
Pay Scales
How should a pay scale be structured? What is a reasonable ratio between the minimum and maximum of a pay scale?
Ideally, there should not be a pay scale at all. For different roles, you should only have a band within which employees should be fitted at appointment and then increments should be based on performance. If at all, there needs to be a pay scale, then for each classification, the ratio needs to be as follows: Support staff (Group C and D) - 4 to 5 times from entry till retirment Executive staff (Group B and some C) - 8 to 10 times from bottom to top Management staff (Group A and some B) - role based but 25 to 50 times from lets say trainee to secretary level.
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?
Recruit at a particular pay depending on role and then give 10% to 20% annual increments based on performance - do away with pay scales altogether.
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?
Remove pay scales. Define starting salary for each role or position by benchmarking through HR consultants. Then give annual increments of 0% to 20% depending on performance, achievement of targets, fiscal situation of employer and other factors. if not possible, then minima to maxima ratio should be large with each increment being at least such that no more than 3 years are spent in reaching from the bottom to the top. If it takes longer, then let the employee stagnate or resign.
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?
Remove the DA concept. Give annual increments based on performance and fiscal situation (say GDP growth rate) of 0% to 20%. Only starting salary for each role needs to be fixed.
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-à-vis their juniors and due weightage is given for the longer service rendered by the former
If pay scales are done away with it, this problem will not arise. If not possible, fix at entry level and then calculate based on 20% increase every year.
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.
SCRAP all these small allowances, just give a large house rent reimbursement to those who do not wish to avail Govt housing, which should be adequate for Delhi/Bombay - say Rs 25000 for a 3 bed flat in Noida. In the long term, sell off all Govt housing except for imperial roles and use the proceeds to pay employees.
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?
Delink from all other jobs in India. Compare to the British armed forces and pay accordingly. Or compare to merchant navy/shipping corporation, indian airlines and oil and gas corporate employees (army compares well to offshore platforms). Scrap all this free but poor quality ration etc and just give cash compensation and housing based on this comparison.
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?
see above
Abolition of feudalism
Should all vestiges of feudalism in the country like huge residential bungalows sprawling over several acres, large number of servants’ 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.
Absolutely, except for constitutional posts and those requiring ceremony. Use the resulting real estate to sell to buiders and use cash proceeds to set up a salary/retirement fund.
Specific proposals
In what manner can Central Government organizations functioning be improved to make them more professional, citizen-friendly and delivery oriented?
Run civil service staffing like an HR function of a company.
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.
Too extensive to discuss here
New concepts
Do you think the concepts of contractual appointment, part-time work, flexible job description, flexi time etc. need to be introduced in Government to change the environment, provide more jobs and impart flexibility to the working conditions of employees?
No, employees are already too lazy and indisciplined
For improving punctuality/introducing new concepts like flexi time, should biometric entry/exit be introduced?
Yes
What steps should be taken to ensure that scientists, doctors, engineers and other professionals with sophisticated education and skills are retained in their specialized fields in Government? Should they be appointed on contract with a higher status and initial pay, advance increments, better service conditions, etc.?
Yes
Should there be lateral movement from Government to non-Government jobs and vice versa? If so, in which sphere(s) and to what extent ?
Allow private sector deputation for 5 to 8 years in any sector. Allow skilled private professionals to apply for roles based on match.
It has been suggested that existing Government employees should be encouraged to shift to employment on contract for specified periods in return for a substantially higher remuneration package. Would you agree?
Yes, if practicable
Performance Appraisal
In what way should be present system of performance appraisal be changed? Should be ACR be an open document?
ACR is horribly outdated, scrap it. Move to online bi-annual appraisal based on preset goals. Ensure complete transparency, discussion and sign off with employee. Take feedback on 360 basis from supervisor, peers, clients (public) etc on self-appraisal.
How far has the introduction of self-assessment helped in the process of appraisal?
Hasn’t
Should appraisal be done for an entire team instead of for individuals?
Both.
In what manner can Government employees be made personally accountable for their acts of omission or commission, without any special safeguards? Would you recommend any amendments to Article 311 of the Constitution, Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 17 and 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and various rules relating to conduct of Government servants and disciplinary proceedings?
Yes
Holidays
Kindly comment on the appropriateness of adopting a five-day week in Government offices when other sectors follow a six day week. Please also state whether the number of Gazetted holidays in Government offices should be reduced? Please also comment on the appropriateness of declaring Gazetted holidays for all major religious festivals.
Most private sectors follow 5-day week. But from Monday to Friday, they work hard from 9am to 6pm on a formal basis and longer informally. Allow employees to choose which gazetted holidays they want to take and each employee should be restricted to maximum 7 gazetted holidays a year in addition to CL/Sick leave and Earned leave.
What do you think is the state of work ethics and punctuality in Government offices? Kindly suggest ways of improving these.
Poor. Do away with files, move to online decision system. Remove NIC/TCS and ask proper IT companies to provide ERP systems
If somebody knows about Justice B.N.Srikrishna, Chairman of the Commission?? Is he pro-employee or anti-employee???
ReplyDelete