Government hikes minimum wage; Unions stick to Sept 2 strike call

Government hikes minimum wage; Unions stick to Sept 2 strike call

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who heads an informal group of ministers constituted to address labour issues, said the minimum wages for unskilled non-agricultural workers will be hiked to Rs 350 per day from the current Rs 246.

Seeking to dissuade labour unions from a nationwide strike on September 2, the government today announced 42 percent minimum wage hike and a two-year bonus, but the trade bodies rejected these measures as "completely inadequate" and stuck to their call.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who heads an informal group of ministers constituted to address labour issues, said the minimum wages for unskilled non-agricultural workers will be hiked to Rs 350 per day from the current Rs 246. Also, the government employees will be paid a wage bonus as per revised norms, for 2014-15 and 2015-16, a move that will entail a payout of Rs 1,920 crore. Other 'labour-friendly' moves included amendment in the Payment of Bonus Act and government support the cause of unions in high courts and the Supreme Court.

The government also said that it will issue advisories to states for ensuring completion of trade union registration within 45 days. The trade unions, who are demanding minimum monthly wage of Rs 18,000 per month or Rs 692 a day and base pension of Rs 3,000 a month, were not impressed by the government's move and said they would go ahead with the day-long general strike on Friday.

The strike call is being supported by almost all major labour unions except RSS-affiliated BMS, and may impact banking and insurance services, power supplies and coal mining. "The government's minimum wage announcement is completely inadequate. The strike stands and we demand they should enact a law to fix minimum (universal) wage," All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said. "Finance Minister's statement clearly shows that the government has not considered any of the demands in our 12- point charter. The unions have no other alternative but to fight for their rights," Indian National Trade Union Congress Vice-President Ashok Singh said.

via money control

Central government employees to get their pending 2 year bonus soon: FM

Central government employees to get their pending 2 year bonus soon: FM

New Delhi: Central government employees will get their pending 2 years bonus soon, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said in the press conference on a charter of demands proposed of Central Trade Unions.

“The bonus entitlement for 2014-15 and 2015-16 will be released on the revised norms for central government employees. This was pending for two years. After this, the bonus will be covered under the 7th Pay Commission,” Finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters in Delhi.

The announcement comes at a time labour unions have called a hunger strike on Friday over their demands.

The Left and Congress-affiliated unions have planned the general strike to oppose the NDA government’s economic and labour policies, exempting hospitals, medical stores, milk distribution and other emergency services from the day-long strike.

To discuss the issue with the trade unions, the government had formed a five-member team of Union ministers including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, MoS Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and MoS Home Jitendra Singh.

“Centre has decided to write to all states regarding compliance of Contract workers law,” said the Finance Minister at the press conference. He also added that the government ha not been able to adhere to all the 12 demands raised by unions.

TST

Budget 2016: Jaitley Cuts Down 54% Ministers Travel Expenses

Budget 2016: Jaitley Cuts Down 54% Ministers Travel Expenses

The travel and other expenses of Union Ministers have been slashed by a whopping 54 per cent in the 2016-17, according to the Budget proposals presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today in Parliament.

The budget estimates, the amount allocated under the head of ‘Tour Expenses’ has been fixed at Rs 259 crore.

The expenditure under this head, which covers salaries, sumptuary and other allowances and travel of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and ex-Prime Ministers, was pegged at Rs 269 crore for 2015-16.

However, the budgetary expenses under this head, which also covers maintenance of VVIP aircraft, was revised later to Rs 566.66 crore.

This year, the government has introduced Rs 4.35 crore under the head of ‘Hospitality and Entertainment’ under which expenditure on government hospitality and entertainment of foreign state guests and official entertainment arranged at Rashtrapati Bhawan on behalf of the Vice President and the Prime Minister.

It also includes reception on national days, investiture ceremonies and presentation of credentials.

Inputs with PTI

7th Pay Commission likely to see pay hikes by 40%

7th Pay Commission likely to see pay hikes by 40%

New Delhi: The Seventh Pay Commission’s report is likely be submitted to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley shortly.

Sources said that there will be no internal relief. The average increase in basic fair pay for all government employees will be in the region of 40-45%.

This is a very rough average because for senior level officers, like the Cabinet Secretary or officials at the secretary level, the payback could increase by more than 50%.

The Pay Panel may recommend a new pay scale from January 1, 2016. The existing HRA would be retained for A1 cities; while there would be a 15-20% hike for other cities.

But interestingly when we spoke to government employees they were not really happy, essentially perhaps because effectively if you take the DA out, it is not really a hefty bonanza as many thought it would be.
Also, given the price rise and inflation issues, most people are saying it is really not that sufficient. Most of these recommendations will be implemented.

But the point is, if the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has a problem with any of the observations or with the impact of the Pay Commission recommendations, he might even send this back to the Pay Commission for another round of iteration.

In that case, some amendments will be made that come back to the Finance Ministry and then it may go back to the Cabinet for approval. If that happens, it could delay the process by about 1-2 more months.
A central government employee will earn up to 40% more if the government accepts the Seventh Pay commission’s proposals, which will be submitted shortly.

This pay hike would affect the lives of over 48 lakh central government employees and 55 lakh pensioners and could trigger off similar pay hike across state governments as well.

An official of the Pay Commission, says recommendations will be made to improve productivity.
The Commission will be talked of market driven compensation at the top level, where there are expert persons required by the government. There should be open competition with the public. If they have a better candidate from outside, he should be appointed instead of simply promoting people by seniority, said the official.

TST