HYDERABAD: Criticising the Pay Revision Commission of Telangana government, the State government employees’ unions said that they will not accept fitment below 43 per cent of basic pay. Speaking to media on Wednesday night after a meeting took place in the Secretariat between representatives of various unions and Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, TNGO president Mamilla Rajender expressed confidence that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will not accept the PRC recommendation and will give a favourable fitment for the around 9.35 lakh employees.
Rajender said that the PRC is just an advisory committee and its recommendation is not binding. He gave example of how during the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government, the PRC had recommended 29 per cent
fitment but after the employees rejected it, the State government increased it to 43 per cent. Expressing shock over the recommendation of the PRC headed by retired bureaucrat CR Biswal, the TNGO president said, “We are unable to digest the fact that the PRC recommended fitment of 7.5 percent. This would in fact reduce our pay. How did the Committee even arrive at this number. This is humiliating.”“We participated in the Telangana statehood agitation and succeeded in achieving the State. We will succeed in achieving a better pay as well,” he added.
Protestors held
Earlier in the day members of various State government employees’ unions held a protest near the Secretariat, where the security was heightened to avoid any untoward circumstances. Around 30 protesters were taken under preventive custody by the police. Both, the Congress and BJP lambasted the State government over the PRC recommendation of 7.5 per cent fitment. BJP State president Bandi Sanjay in his statement pointed out that the salaries of employees who have 30 per cent CPS will be actually reduced by 2.5 per cent if the State government follows recommendation of the PRC.
He alleged that the PRC report was prepared at the behest of the Chief Minister and questioned if the report was prepared in the CM’s farmhouse. “The CM has deceived every section of society, including the unemployed and ryots, and now government employees have also become a part of the list,” he said. He demanded that the State government give 45 per cent fitment and said that the erstwhile AP government conferred better than the Telangana government as they never sanctioned below 25 per cent.
The Congress leaders alleged that the Chief Minister is drawing highest salary in the State and should have known the problems of employees. TPCC working president Revanth Reddy drew a parallel with 7.5 per cent fitment given by the erstwhile AP government in 1975 and questioned how can 7.5 per cent now be enough when there is spike in inflation. “The present PRC recommendation is based on 2013 prices. It will be enforced for next five years. Is the government in its senses?” Revanth questioned.