Bunching of stages in the revised pay structure in the Grade of Assistant Section Officers
F.No.7/1/2017-CS-I(A) (Pt.II)
Government of India
Department of Personnel & Training
2nd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan
Khan Market, New Delhi - 3
Subject:
Bunching of stages in the revised pay structure in the Grade of Assistant Section Officers - Reg
Reference is invited to this Department's O.M. No. 7/1/2017-CS-I(A)(Pt.) dated 27.02.17 on this subject cited above.
2.
In view of Department of Expenditure's O.M. No.1-6/2016-IC dated
03.08.2017 (copy enclosed), it has been decided with the approval of
competent authority of withdraw the DoP&T's O.M dated 27-02.2017
with immediate effect.
(K.Srinivasan)
Under Secretary to the Government of India
No.1-6/2016-IC
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure
Implementation Cell, 7th CPC
North Block, New Delhi,
3rd August, 2017
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject:
Recommendations of the Central Pay Commission (CPC) -
bunching of stages in the revised pay structure under Central Civil
Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016.
With reference to the subject mentioned above and in continuation of
this Department's OM of even number dated 07.09.2016 and 13.06.2017,
detailed instructions are hereby being issued on the application of the
benefit on account of bunching of stages while fixing the pay in the
revised pay structure as a response to a large number of references
received from Ministries/Departments.
2. The provisions giving effect to the recommendations of the 7th CPC
on extending the benefit on account of bunching were notified vide DoE
O.M. dated 07.09.2016. Benefits on account of bunching have been
extended during the initial fixation of pay in the revised pay structure
while implementing the recommendations of earlier CPCs also. Bunching
occurs in the fixation of pay when the pay at two or more consecutive
stages in a Pay Scale/ Grade Pay in the pre revised scale get fixed at
the same stage in the corresponding Pay Scale/ Level in the revised pay
structure.
3. The modalities of determining the extent of bunching and the
nature of benefits to be extended on account thereof, based on the
recommendations of the CPCs, have differed across different Pay
Commission periods. While the 5th CPC recommended that benefits be
extended when more than four stages get bunched, the 6th CPC recommended
that benefits be extended when two or more stages get bunched. The
fitment tables drawn by the 6th CPC and notified by the Government
subsequently provided for the benefit of bunching only when more than
two stages were bunched. As regards the benefits to be extended on
account of bunching, the 5th CPC recommended benefit of one increment
for every four consecutive stages bunched. the 6th CPC recommended
benefit of one increment for every two consecutive pay stages bunched.
For HAG scales, however, benefit of one increment was given at each of
the pay stages in the 6th CPC pay structure.
4. In terms of the DoE O.M. dated 07.09.2016 based on the 7th CPC recommendations, bunching
occurs when two or more stages get bunched and benefit of one increment
is to be given for every two stages bunched. These provisions are to be
applied while revising the pay from the 6th CPC regime to the 7th CPC
regime. In the 6th CPC pay structure, about 35 pay scales existing in
the 5th CPC pay structure were replaced by a system of running pay bands
recommended by the 6th CPC. The 6th CPC pay structure consisted of 19
grades spread across four distinct pay bands and 4 distinct scales
including two fixed scales. The 6th pay structure being replaced by the
7th CPC recommended Pay Matrix, thus. consists of 4 Pay Bands with 15
levels of Grade Pay, along with 4 standalone scales, viz., HAG scale,
HAG+ scale, Apex scale (fixed) and the scale of Cabinet Secretary
(fixed).
5. While in the 5th CPC structure, the stages in every pay scale were
well defined, the stages were not well defined in the 6th CPC
structure. The pay was to be fixed in the running Pay Band by rounding
off to the next higher multiple of 10. Every multiple of 10 was a pay
stage in the 6th CPC regime. However, all consecutive 10 rupee stages
for any Grade Pay cannot be taken as consecutive stages for the purpose
of bunching in reference to the 7th CPC recommendations as is also clear
from the illustration contained in para 5.1.37 of the 7th CPC Report.
Based on the illustration contained in para 5.1.37 of the 7th CPC
Report, Department of Expenditure’s O.M. dated 07.09.2016 provided that a
difference of at least 3%, the rate of annual increment, in the 6th CPC
pay structure was essential for counting of two stages. The 6th CPC had
replaced the system of equidistant pay stages in a pay scale based on
equal annual increments in the 5th CPC regime by a system of annual
increment of 3% on the sum of pay in the running pay band and the Grade
Pay which was to be added to the running pay as increment. Therefore,
the pay stages in any given Grade Pay were specific to an employee and
depended upon the initial fixation of pay in that Grade Pay. As a
result, the amount of increment earned in the same Grade Pay would
differ in the same Pay Scale/ Grade Pay not only between different
employees but also across years for the same employee. To illustrate, an
employee whose pay was fixed at Rs 46,100 in GP of 8700 in PB-4 would
have the first annual increment of Rs 1390 which would be added to his
running pay in the Pay Band. another employee whose pay initially was
fixed at Rs 46,400 in the same Grade Pay would have the first annual
increment of Rs 1400. In such a scenario where the pay stages are
specific to the employee, it is not possible to arrive at universal pay
stages for the purpose of determining the extent of bunching. Therefore,
for the purpose of determining the extent of bunching in a system of
running pay bands, the consecutive pay stages that need to be considered
are the pay stages which are specific to the employee
6. In the 5th CPC structure, the maximum and the minimum of every pay
scale were well defined. In the 6th CPC structure, Entry Pay was
separately notified for most Grade Pay levels to govern the entry pay of
direct recruits in that level. The pay of those moving from a lower
grade to a higher one on promotion was regulated in terms of provisions
contained in Rule 13 of CCS (RP) Rules, 2008. As such, the Entry Pay
notified for a given Pay Scale/ Grade Pay is the effective minimum of
that Grade Pay for direct recruits. For an employee getting promoted,
the sum of the minimum of the relevant Pay Band and the Grade Pay is the
effective minimum pay. The 7th CPC, in its Report, has commented that
this led to many situations where direct recruits drew higher pay as
compared to personnel who reached that stage through promotion. Demands
were received by the 7th CPC from many staff associations and employees
for removal of this disparity which the 7th CPC refers to as
differential entry pay.
7. In the revised dispensation for pay fixation in the New Pay
Structure as recommended by the 7th CPC, direct recruits shall start at
the minimum pay corresponding to the level to which recruitment is made,
which will be the first cell of each level. For those promoted from the
previous level, the fixation of pay in the new level will depend on the
pay they were already drawing in the previous level. The pay, however,
cannot be less than the first stage of the relevant level. While
enumerating the benefits of migrating to the new system at para 5.1.47
of the 7th CPC Report, it has been stated that ‘the issue of
differential entry pay has been resolved‘. At para 5.1.36 of the 7th CPC
Report it has also been mentioned that rationalization has been done
with utmost care to ensure minimum bunching at most levels.
Rationalization has been done by the 7th CPC through the Index of
Rationalisation (IoR) which has been multiplied with the Entry Pay in
the 6th CPC regime to arrive at the first cell of each level. With the
Entry Pay along with IOR being used as the determiner of the first cell,
pay stages below the Entry Pay have been consciously brought up to the
level of Entry Pay and its corresponding pay stage in the revised pay
structure. As a result, all pay stages below the Entry Pay in any Level
will, on re-fixation, converge to the first pay stage in that level. As
this convergence takes place on account of a conscious decision of the
7th CPC intrinsic to the architecture of the Pay Matrix by indicating
the Entry Pay as the starting point of each Level, benefit on account of
bunching cannot be extended with reference to pay stages lower than the
Entry Pay indicated by the 7th CPC for that level in the Pay Matrix.
Extending the benefit of bunching with reference to pay stages below the
entry pay will perpetuate the difference in pay on account of
differential Entry Pay which was addressed by the 7th CPC.
8. Based on the above. it is clarified that the following shall be
kept in view while determining the extent of bunching as also the
benefits to be extended on account of bunching at the time of initial
fixation of pay in the 7th CPC pay structure:
(i) Benefit on account of bunching is to be extended when two or more stages get bunched.
(ii) Benefit of one increment is to be extended on account of bunching of every two consecutive stages.
(iii) As stipulated in MoF OM dated
07.09.2016, a difference of 3% to be reckoned for determination of
consecutive pay stages, specific to each employee.
(iv) All pay stages lower than the Entry
Pay in the 6th CPC pay structure as indicated in the Pay Matrix
contained in the 7th CPC Report are not to be taken into account for
determining the extent of bunching.
9. All Ministries/ Departments are advised to review all cases
wherein benefit on account of bunching has been extended in terms of
this Department’s OM dated 07.09.2016 and to re-fix the pay in terms of
the instructions contained herein.
(V.K Singh)
Director
Source:
DoPT
