HYDERABAD: THE latest GO issued for the deferment of part of the salary of State government employees for March runs counter to its earlier GO while also making the State government look morally unsound as it has asked the private firms to pay wages to its employees in full.
The 14th point in GO 45, issued on March 23, said, “All the government as well as private establishments shall make payments of wages/salaries fully to the workers/employees, including those working under contract and outsourced basis during the lockdown period. Any violation will be viewed seriously and will invite penal action under The Epidemics Disease Act-1897”.
According to the latest GO, the deferment of part of the salary is on account of the crisis triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak.It said, “The government, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, read with all other enabling provisions of the Disaster Management Act-2005, has notified lockdown in the entire State of Telangana with immediate effect till 31st March, 2020, and further extended till April 14 prescribing certain regulations and measures during the said period.” The order also said the deferment of salary for government employees, the All India Service Officers and Ministers was meant for the gross salary for the month of March, payable on April 1, 2020 and would would continue to be in force till further orders.
Meanwhile, the Labour Department issued another GO on March 28 which stated that, “The State government hereby declares paid holidays to all category of employees/workers working in factories, which are closed down in the lockdown period”. In the wake of the government deferring the payment of salaries to its employees, it remains to be seen whether the factories, shops and other business establishments, which have been closed due to lockdown, would pay wages to their employees.
An employee in a private firm asked, “How can the State direct the private sector to pay full wages to its employees when the State government itself has deferred the payment of salary to its staff?”Meanwhile, the State government has not even spared home guards, Anganwadi workers/helpers, VRAs and Vidya volunteers from the salary cut.
According to a memo issued by the Finance Department on Tuesday, the cut would be on the gross salary/emoluments without deductions/recoveries.Principal Finance Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao said the cut in salary with respect to contract/outsourced employees would also be applicable to all categories of personnel working on honorarium basis like home guards, Anganwadi workers/helpers, VRAs and Vidya volunteers.
The cut would be ten per cent with respect to pensioners belonging to the last-grade service, 50 per cent with respect to other State government pensioners and 60 per cent when it comes to All India Service pensioners. The bills/cheques pertaining to the employees of Grants-in-Aid institutions should be returned to the DDOs concerned/PD administrators for resubmission, the memo said.
“Since there are no deductions from pay bills, the individuals shall be responsible for remittance of non-governmental deductions hitherto being effected through pay bills. In such cases, they shall submit an undertaking to the DDO before preparation of next month’s pay bills that such remittance were made, failing which cumulative recoveries shall be effected by the DDO,” the order said.