Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah on Thursday gave a strong indication to the state government employees that a the salary hike might be in the cards for them. Siddaramaih hinted on setting up a pay panel to look into the salaries of government employees. The hike is expected to benefit over 6 Lakh 40 thousand employees. The CM was speaking on the sidelines of the diamond jubilee celebration of the Karnataka Government Secretariat Employees’ Association (KGSEA) here. This came when the state government employees went on a day-long strike to demand pay parity with the employees of the central government, after the 7th Pay Commission put forth its recommendations.
Siddaramaiah’s hint about a salary hike comes over two months after the government employees had observed the strik on June 2, demanding a hike akin to the one recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission. The CM was quoted as saying by the Deccan Herald, ”State government employees have been demanding salaries on a par with the Central government staff. The time has come to set up the next pay commission as the Centre is implementing the recommendations of the seventh pay commission.” The last time the state had seen a pay commission being set up, was five yeas ago. KGSEA president Mahadevaiah Matapathii commented on the CM’s hint, expressing happiness about the idea.
“We are happy that the chief minister is keen on setting up a new pay commission. He also promised to look into our grievances,” Matapathii said. Besides a salary hike, Karnataka state government employees have also been seeking session allowance for all Vidhana Soudha employees and a site for the association’s building. The 7th Pay Commission recommendations have been a trigger for many state government employees to demand an increase in salaries. While the Narendra Modi government has accepted the recommendations related to salary hike, with decision on allowances still pending. The committee appointed to look into the matter and resolves the anomalies related to allowances, will submit a report in November this year.
[Source:-India]
