CHENNAI: Engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) and Water Resources Department (WRD) have urged the state government to constitute a Pay Grievance Redressal Committee led by retired judge M Sathyanarayanan, as directed by the Madras High Court, to address issues related to the implementation of the seventh pay commission’s recommendations.
In April, the court directed the government to form the committee within four weeks. It had also said the committee should make recommendations in six months regarding pay scales and grade pay for 52 categories of engineers across 20 departments. The engineers, however, said the panel has not been formed yet.
M Dhanasekaran, general secretary of the Association of Engineers Tamil Nadu PWD and WRD told TNIE, “During the implementation of the sixth pay commission, the pay scale for the state government staff was supposed to be the same as that of Union government staff. But the state did not follow this for engineers in 20 departments, including PWD, WRD, highways, and local bodies.”
As per the sixth pay commission, central government engineers at entry level get Rs 21,000 per month, while those in TN receive only Rs 14,400. Nearly 13,000 assistant engineers have been losing up to Rs 15,000 per month since the implementation of seventh pay commission recommendations.
A Srinivasan, president of the Assistant Engineers Association, said, “Engineers are stuck with the old pay scale, missing out on annual increments, allowances, and other benefits.” Sources in the secretariat said proposals have been submitted to the CM and he will decide on the issue.