A West Bengal employees’ forum has stated that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has assured them that the state government will implement the Supreme Court’s order on payment of dearness allowance (DA) dues, PTI reported.
A one and a half hour long meeting was held at the state secretariat on Monday between Adhikari and forum representatives. Leaders of the Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees on 1 June told reporters that during a meeting, the CM assured them the apex court’s orders would be implemented, the report added.
Notably, the SC in a judgement made in February this year noted that DA is a legally enforceable right and directed the West Bengal government to pay arrears its employees’ dues for the period between 2008 to 2019.
What did employees’ forum leaders say on DA?
Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of the forum said that they were satisfied with the discussions. “He (Adhikari) has assured us that the Supreme Court’s order on DA dues will be implemented in letter and spirit. He has also assured payment of 25% of the arrears in compliance with the court’s directions,” Ghosh said.
He added that there was “some difference of opinion” on the percentage of arrears, but Adhikari assured “further discussions will be held on the issue”. Ghosh added that the CM also promised a gradual reduction of the gap between the DA received by state employees of the Central government and that of the state.
Ghosh told reporters Adhikari has directed the chief secretary and the finance secretary to initiate the process for the implementation of the SC order.
DA gap between Centre, state to be bridged?
Employee representatives said that Central government staffers receive DA at 60% of basic pay, while West Bengal government employees receive it at 18%, leaving a gap of 42 percentage points between the two. “The chief minister has assured us that the DA gap with the Centre will be bridged in phases. We expect a major announcement on this issue in the state budget on 22 June,” he stated.
The forum’s leader further said that Adhikari had committed to implementing the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations by January next year.
“Issues relating to pay disparities among state government employees, including temporary staff, were also discussed during the meeting. The chief minister himself proposed that regular meetings be held between the state government and employees’ organisations. A framework for such consultations is being worked out,” Ghosh added.
Central government employees and pensioners are covered by the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) which offers a different pay structure and increases gap in pay. Now, with the 8th CPC underway, there were concerns that the gap will widen.
West Bengal to fill vacant government posts
Further, speaking about recruitment by the state government, Ghosh said a policy for filling up vacant posts is expected to be announced by 7 June. “The chief minister has told us that at least 50,000 appointments will be made by December this year,” he added.
The Bengal chief minister also assured the forum leaders about the reinstatement of employees who had been suspended for participating in agitation programmes, according to Ghosh. “We assured the chief minister of our full cooperation in building a corruption-free administration,” he added.
Bengal 7th state pay commission formed
Earlier in May, the West Bengal government approved, in principle, forming its 7th state pay commission to decide salary and DA hikes for state government employees, educational institutions, government corporation and board staff, and state government-aided bodies. The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on 18 May, chaired by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna, the West Bengal state secretariat.
According to state Women, Child, and Social Welfare Minister Agnimitra, the state’s 7th pay commission will consider an upward revision of the salaries of employees. She added that the scope of a pay hike would also extend to staff of statutory entities like civic bodies, local bodies, education boards and those working in state-run education institutions, as per a PTI report.
(With inputs from PTI)
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- The Supreme Court has mandated the payment of DA dues for state employees, highlighting it as a legally enforceable right.
- The West Bengal government plans to address the disparity in DA rates compared to central government employees.
- A commitment to gradual salary adjustments and recruitment of 50,000 new employees was made during the meeting.