VIJAYAWADA: Reiterating that employees are an integral part of the government and their welfare is paramount, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday cautioned them about political intrusion into employee matters, which will not be good for anyone.
Speaking to leaders of the employees’ unions, who thanked the Chief Minister for agreeing to their demands, Jagan said he is happy to see all the employees are satisfied with the outcome. “This government is yours and you should not forget it. Today, I am able to take four steps forward to do good only because of your cooperation. I might not be able to meet your expectations on PRC due to financial constraints as the State economy has been hit by Covid, but I wholeheartedly made every effort to provide you the best pay package. Just remember that this government always stands by employees,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister emphasised that there should not be any place for politics in employee affairs as it will make the atmosphere murky. If employees have any issues, they should approach the government and there is an anomalies committee to sort out their problems, he said.
“The committee with three ministers, Chief Secretary, Government Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and former APNGO president Chandrasekhar Reddy will continue. Any issues faced by employees can be brought to its notice to get them resolved. Never forget you all are part of the government and any issue can be resolved through negotiations without resorting to other ways,” he avowed. Jagan said the ministerial committee, which held talks with the leaders of employees’ unions has been in touch with him and all the decisions and assurances have been made as per his directions.
“I am happy that the outcome of talks is to your satisfaction,” he said. Exempting 9 out of 30 months of IR from adjustment has put an additional burden of Rs 5,400 crore on the exchequer. Similarly, HRA from January will cause an additional burden of Rs 325 crore. The total additional burden will be Rs 5,725 crore. Further, the recurring expenditure of Rs 800 crore per annum for HRA, Rs 450 crore for additional quantum of pension and Rs 80 crore for CCA will cause a burden of Rs 1,330 crore, which is additional to the earlier announced PRC expenditure of Rs 10,247 crore, totalling Rs 11,577 crore, he explained.
The hike in salaries of Anganwadi staff, ASHA workers, home guards, sanitation workers and time-scale for contract employees cost the exchequer another Rs 11,000 crore. “I am informing you of these figures so you are aware of the financial burden on the State, nothing more,” he elaborated.
He said the State revenue, which was Rs 62,000 crore in 2018-19, should have increased by 15% to Rs 72,000 crore in 2019-20, but fell to Rs 60,000 crore and the decline continued in the following years too. Despite all these constraints, the government is committed to the welfare of employees, he said, urging them not to become emotional pertaining to their problems, if any, which can be resolved through dialogue.
Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath, Government Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma and other officials were present. Later, speaking to reporters, Sajjala found fault with Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan’s comments that the YSRC government was showing highhandedness, which he said is “baseless”.
Regularisation of contract employees to be taken up
Jagan discussed the abolition of Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and promised to evolve a right solution so that their pensions will increase considerably. The regularisation of contract employees as per roster will also be taken up. With regard to teachers’ issues, he said 30,000 teachers will get promotions.