Sixth Central Pay Commission - Government Sector versus Public and Private Sector

All the nitty gritties of the Pay Commission’s report apart, one fails to understand why there is so much of hype when the pay structure of the government employees is restructured. Much is talked about the jump in salaries, improvement in life style, increase in purchasing power, etc. Curiosity of the market goes up and it accordingly shows a higher price index. Hence much before the sarkari baboo gets the actual benefits of the pay commission’s report, everything is out of control for him and he is back to the square one.

As a government employee I clearly remember, the hype created before the official release of the recommendations of the 5th Pay Commission’s report. The pay package that the beneficiaries learnt from the media gave them a reason to daydream about the end of pecuniary miseries for them. The style in which it was reported gave them the impression that they will become millionaires in one go. But all their hopes were deflated very soon. The market reacted more than the hopes of the Baboos. The status of the Baboos as of now is that they are the lowest paid in the organised sector.

The era of post liberalisation phase has seen salaries rise in dramatic manner. A graduate passing out from his college after joining a short term course of speaking accent in a institute that imparts training for call centres can aspire to earn in the periphery of Rs. 20,000/- per month. Added to that the perks of free transport, free lunch/ dinner, breakfast, picnic adds to the charm. In a span of 5 years he chucks out his job and gains entry in some multinational firm and his salary and perks spiral upwards. Similarly, with the opening of other sectors, all the sectors are vying with each other in the matter of paying higher pay/ perks. Why to look at private sector, when we have a very highly paying public sector. I came to know from a personal friend working in a public sector that his driver draws OTA more than his salary. In other words there is no limit/ ceiling in the matter of payment of monetary benefits. Similarly, a PA working in a public sector earns something like 30,000 to 35,000. What can be the reason behind this disparity?

Some are of the view that the workforce in public sector is overburdened and they have to follow the mandate – Perform or Perish. But this is not the absolute truth. It may be argued that they are the profit earning bodies and that in order to retain their skilled / unskilled workforce, they have to pay them higher salaries and other perks. But the counter is that the government still retains monopoly on many resources – generation, distribution, etc. – and hence if it posts large profits, it is not a surprise.

But the employees of Central government are totally a distressed lot. Everything has a cap over it. Be it OTA, Bonus, salary, etc. It can’t be disputed that the entrants into the government service are talented people. Gaining entry into the government service has become a tough nut to crack. But the feeling of despair creeps in very fast when they are made to stand up in queue for promotion. Even crossing the benchmark of “Very Good” in their Confidential Reports becomes a matter of great achievement for them. With the introduction of computerisation at every stage, the workload of the government employees has increased manifold. The working style of bureaucrats also has seen a dramatic change. The deadlines have to comply with invariably. With everything on line, the work has to be completed on day-to-day basis and has to be updated. Fear of ERC keeps on hanging like a sword of Damocles. In other words, in comparison to their counterparts work-wise they are more or less equally burdened. Added to that is the inordinate delay in the matter of promotions. This creates despair in the employees and they lose their initiative.

In the matter of medical facilities, the employees in the public sector are far better off. Virtually every hospital is in their panel and all their treatment is cashless. A cursory enquiry from Apollo hospital revealed that the hospital has advances in surplus from public sector enterprises and the ease with which the organisations clear of the medical bills. All these things prompt the hospital authorities to give preference treatment to the employees of public sector. Compare it with central government employees; first they have to get a reference from the government hospital’s specialist and then a letter from the head of the office referring them to a particular hospital in the CGHS panel. Even after the reference, the hospital authorities refuse to entertain the request of credit facilities to these employees. Even after the treatment is over, the bills when submitted for reimbursement, invariably results in a cut of around 20 – 30% of the actual bill. The reasons preferred are that such and such medicines were not covered under the CGHS rules or the diet charges are not admissible, etc. The very first thing that is encountered is the refusal of the hospital authorities to entertain CGHS beneficiaries, even if the hospital is under CGHS panel. Their grouse is that CGHS takes very long time in settling payment. Under these circumstances, the main axe falls on the beneficiaries who become sandwiches between the hospital and the government policies.

Similarly if we have a look at the retirement benefit, other than the regular pension, the total amount that an average employee gets on retirement is very meager when compared to the public sector employees. Much needs to be done to remove the grievances.

Hence it is expected that the new Pay Commission’s report will consider the glaring disparity existing between the public sector employees and their counterparts in the government sector. I am sure, if the government is considerate towards its employees, there is no doubt that the government sector can achieve the same vitality and vigour as prevalent in any other sector/ country and India can find its place of pride in the comity of nations.

- Sudesh Negi

(You are all requested to give your comments on the above article so that a campaign is started to have government servants' views, suggestions which may be forwarded to the Pay Commission for consideration before implementation of Sixth Central Pay Commission's report. You can either post your comments on the option given below or you can write to sarkaribaboo@gmail.com)