Latest news on 7th CPC

Expected Date for Submission of 7th Pay Commission Report and its important recommendations – Sources

As the 7th pay Commission itself declared that the work of compilation and finalization of the report is underway, it is the time for expecting the date on which the report will be submitted after it is finalized. The stipulated time for submitting the report is 18 months from the date of notification issued. In a resolution dated 28th February, 2014, Government of India has appointed the Seventh Central Pay Commission comprising Justice Shri Ashok Kumar Mathur as Chairman, Shri Vivek Rae as full time Member, Dr. Ratin Roy as part time Member and Smt. Meena Agarwal as Secretary

The 7th pay commission has been given 18 months’ time from date of its constitution to make its recommendation. Hence the tentative date for submission of Report will be 30th August 2015.

The sources close to the 7th Pay Commission, on the condition of anonymity told that the 7th pay Commission Report is almost finalized and the Report is expected to be submitted on or before 14th August 2015. The Leaders representing one of the railway federations in the staff side also confirmed this news.

According to the Sources the important Points of the Pay Commission’s Recommendations are ..

1. There will be no running Pay band and Grade Pay System 

2. The uniform multiplication factor for arriving revised pay will be 2.86 

3. The Pay scales will be open ended to avoid stagnation in the scales 

4. The Minimum Pay will be Rs. 21000 

5. The CCA will be separated into two components as it was in the fifth CPC 

6. Percentage of HRA will remain same. 

7. The Criteria for retirement age will be either completion of 33 Years of service or at the age of 60 Years whichever is earlier. 

8. CGEGIS Insurance Coverage and Monthly premium will be increased 

9. Classification of Posts will be Modified 

10. The 7th Pay Commission recommendation will be implemented with effects from 1.1.2016.

Further ,the sources told that the Committee of Secretaries will be appointed to study the report and analyze the financial implications upon implementation of 7th pay commission recommendation. An ally of NCJCM Staff Side told that the Staff Side also will be invited by the third week of September 2015 by this Committee before giving its final nod for approval for this Recommendation.

It appears that after three decades the Pay Commission recommendations will come into force on the first day of its due date. Retrospective effect will not be required for implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendation, since the notification for implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations might be issued on or before 1.1.2016. So there will be no financial burden for government on spending for payment of Arrears to this effect.

It is indeed very good news for entire central and some State government employees community. There are expectations on its peak over 7th pay commission recommendation. Whether the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendation fulfill their expectations or not?. Let’s hope, by the time of next month, everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.

Najib Shah Gets Additional Charge As CBEC Chairman

New Delhi: Najib Shah, Member, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has been given the additional charge of CBEC Chairman, following the superannuation of Kaushal Srivastava Tuesday, the press release of Ministry of Finance said.

Member CBEC Najib Shah got additional charge of CBEC Chairman.

“Shri Najib Shah, Member, CBEC shall discharge the duties and responsibilities of the post of Chairman, CBEC in addition to his own duties till further orders,” an Office Order of CBEC in this respect said.

Shah, a 1979 batch IRS officer, is presently also working as the Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) besides Member of CBEC. He joined CBEC in May as a Member.

Shah is also the senior among the six members of CBEC,

Shah is famous for his honesty and integrity and also for his fearlessness. So, he is still working as DG of DRI, the major intelligence agency of Ministry of Finance besides Member-cum-Chairman of CBEC.

CBEC has six Members apart from the chairman and is the apex body for framing policy and administrative issues related to indirect taxes i.e. Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax.

It is pertinent to mention here that presently Mrs Neera Shah (Ex-DG HRD) W/o. Shri Najib Shah is also member CBEC and I alongwith comrade Abhay Singh have availed opportunity of lengthy discussions with both these officer in common interest of the cadre during the cadre restructuring.

Yours comradely

BL Meena

Superintendent

J.C.M.

The scheme of Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) was introduced in the year 1966 as a sequel of the recommendations of the Second Pay Commission. The scheme is indented to serve as a Grievance Redressal mechanism for addressing issues raised by the staff. It covers nearly 95% of the regular civil employees. However, Gazetted Group ‘B’  Officers are not covered by the scheme except Gazetted Group ‘B’ officers of the Central Secretariat. Thus other Gazetted Group ‘B’ Officers are discriminated vis a vis the Gazetted Group ‘B’ Officers of the Central Secretariat. The absence of a Redressal scheme has left the Gazetted Group ‘B’  Officers without any means to voice their grievances before the Government.

The Officers have been demanding for a separate Grievance Redressal set up akin to the JCM or at least, a platform to negotiate the common issues of Gazetted Group ‘B’ Officers across various departments with the representative of CBEC. Their voices have so far fallen on deaf ears. AIACEGEO insisting that the issue be examined by the CBEC and a Grievance Redressal Mechanism for the Gazetted Group ‘B’  Officers be introduced so that the discrimination is removed and the genuine grievances of gazetted officers   numbering around 18,000 are meaningfully addressed by a forum and the present condition that chokes them into despair is removed.

Farewell

Shri R.C. Sharma ex-Secretary General of All India Federation of Central Excise Executive Officers' (now AICEIA) retired on 31-May-2015 as Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai, after putting in around 37 years of service.

His farewell meeting  was attended by Shri S.K. Pareek, Assistant Commissioner, Jaipur ( ex-President of AIACEGEO)

Pay Commission

The Seventh Pay Commission may recommend a 2-3 times hike in government salaries from 2006 levels, a move which may spread cheers among civil servants but increase the stress on the fisc.

Sources told Bloomberg TV India that Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) was considering mega give-away to the government employees. When the government implements the CPC mandate hopefully from January 2016, salary scale may double or treble from what it was in 2006, an official said.

On an annual basis, the hike may be close to 30 per cent as consecutive hikes in dearness allowances has already raised the salary levels of government staff.

Sources said there is likely to be a four-fold hike in the grade pay. In the lowest salary band, the grade pay is likely to go up from Rs 1,800 per month to Rs 7,300. In the higher bracket, it may go up from the current Rs 12,000 to Rs 50,000.

Historically, government salaries have almost trebled in every decade. The sixth CPC suggested 3 times increase in salaries from that of fifth CPC levels--it was 2.6 times for lower grade officials and slightly above three times for higher grade staff. The increase in salary during fifth CPC was 3-3.5 times the fourth CPC levels.

The previous UPA government set up the Seventh CPC headed by Justice AK Mathur in February 2014 and promised to implement the salary hike from January 2016. The Narendra Modi government may stick to the January deadline. The Seventh CPC may present its report to the government by August, sources said.

North Block officials say the wage bill in the next financial year may see a 30 per cent hike on the back of Pay Commission recommendation, throwing up a huge challenge in the face of the fiscal consolidation roadmap.

In the case of the sixth CPC, the government expenditure increased by about Rs 22,000 crore during FY09—Rs 15,700 crore on the general budget and Rs 6,400 crore on the rail budget. Arrears amounting to Rs 18,000 crore were distributed in two years—40 per cent in FY09 and 60 per cent in FY10.

The fiscal implication of sixth CPC coupled with fiscal stimulus in the form of higher spending and tax cuts after the Lehman crisis, doubled the Centre’s fiscal deficit to 6 per cent in FY09 and from less than 2.7 per cent in FY08.

HAPPY NEW YEAR-2015*

Dear Comrades & Friends,

Wish you and your family healthy, prosperous & very very Happy New Year-2015*

May this year bring all meaningful spark in your life.

With regards,

BL Meena
Superintendent, Jaipur

Point-wise suggestions on draft Transfer Policy

Dear Friends/Comrades,

I have prepared some point-wise suggestions on the draft transfer policy in common interest all of us, which are published below.

You are requested to please go through the suggestions and provide more reasoned suggestions for improvement of the same.

Please note that it is a time bound issue therefore, please respond timely & effectively so that consolidated suggestions can be submitted to office bearers of our Association for effective action at their end.

With regards & love,

Yours comradely,
BL Meena
Superintendent

Point-wise suggestions on draft Transfer Policy:-

General Guidelines:-

6.         On promotion, officer should be retained on the same station if post is available on the said station.  If more officers are promoted in comparison to vacant posts, the officer having longest station tenure should only be shifted.

9. 

(i) The prescribed qualifying service for promotion to the grade of Superintendent is 8 years whereas as on today no Inspector is being promoted before completion of at least 12 years i.e. 150% of the qualifying service. Moreover, as a result of cadre restructuring executive officers have been promoted as Superintendent after completion of 23 years of service in Inspector cadre.

(ii) The qualifying service for promotion from Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner is prescribed as 2 years therefore, it is not be proper of judicious decision to dis-qualify Superintendents on account of experience even after completion of more than twice qualifying service in the executive cadres. 

(iii)  If newly Assistant Commissioner can supervise the audit work without experience of 5 years then there should be no problem for a Superintendent, who has already served such a long period in the executive cadre.

Though there should be comparison in experience for posting in Audit work for better results therefore, Superintendents having combined service of 15 years in both executive cadres should be deployed for the audit work.

10.

(i).   There is no justification to assign non-sensitive charge on promotion therefore, Superintendents should be posted on sensitive or non-sensitive looking into his immediate posting in Inspector cadre.

(ii).  Similarly, there is no justification to assign non sensitive charge on reversion from Customs Commissionerate. The officer should be posted on sensitive or non-sensitive posting looking into his immediate posting in Customs Commissionerate.

I-Station Tenure:-

(i)    The station tenure for Central Excise Division Chittorgarh, Pali & Bikaner should also be only 2 years.

(ii)   Similarly, station tenure for Customs Divisions Sriganganagar & Bikaner should be only 1 year at par with Customs Ranges.

                The extension requests of willing officers should be considered for a longer time for aforesaid stations.

II-Allocation of Commissionerate:-

Para 4.5          

      The word “prescribed complete tenure” should be inserted alongwith both restrictions because in many cases the officers have been transferred/are transfered from those postings/stations on account of the administration’s exigencies without completion of the prescribed tenure.

Para 4.6         

(i).    The tenure of all non-sensitive postings should be only one (1) year in any case.

(ii)     The prescribed period of sensitive posting is 1 year Customs formations whereas 2 years in Central Excise formations. Thus, sensitive posting in Customs formations is itself a complete sensitive postings therefore, while posting in Central Excise or Customs formations vice-versa the period of sensitive posting in Customs formation should not be clubbed for the purpose of completion of 2 years sensitive posting in Central Excise formation. 

(iii)    Similarly, if on account of the administration’s exigencies an officer is transferred/shifted from one sensitive posting to another sensitive posting within Central Excise formations, he should compulsory be rotated on non-sensitive posting immediately on completion of combined tenure of 2 years. 

III-Local rotation at a station:-

As submitted & discussed earlier on several occasions, it is again requested that the tenure in Service Tax formations should be only 1 year and officers of Service Tax should be rotated in sensitive posting  of Central Excise or Audit after accordingly.

V-Miscellaneous/Exception:-

(i)     Normally, requests for transfer or extension on account of study of child in Class X or Class XII receives for Jaipur and Kota stations therefore, sufficient posts should be permanently be diverted to these stations from other stations or Commissionerates so that other needy officers can also have a chance to serve on these stations to discharge their family obligations/responsibilities such as; look after of oldage parents, engagement/ marriage of their marriageable children etc.

(ii)    In any case Lady Officer should NOT be assigned sensitive posting during extension of the prescribed station tenure. 

(iii)   The provisions of Transfer Policy should strictly be followed without any excuse to any one and office bearers of the Association should also be a part of the prescribed committee for examination of any special case.

The Headquarters of all Audit Circles should be at Jaipur:-

There is no justification to shift Audit Circles out of Jaipur. In this regard supporting submissions are as under:-

(i)     The Headquarters of Audit Commissionerate will remain at Jaipur.

(ii)    The MCM of all Audit Circles is prescribed under chairmanship of the Commissioner of Audit alongwith all the Commissioners of Central Excise therefore, MCM will be held at Jaipur. 

(iii)    All posts of the Additional Commissioner will only at at Hqrs, Jaipur.

(iv)   All files of desk review have to be approved by the Additional Commissioner.

(v)    If Audit Circles are shifted at those places there will be no savings of TA/DA because the Audit officers have to frequently visit at Jaipur for day to day work such as – desk review approval, discussion with the Additional Commissioner, MCM meeting, IAR & SCN approval etc.

(vi)    If Audit Circles are shifted at Alwer, Bhiwadi, Udaipur or Jodhpur there will be requirement of separate buildings, infrastructure facilities and residential quarters at those stations.

(vii)   In Jaipur, sufficient government residential accommodations are available and Audit Commissionerate can be functioned in a single building smoothly. 

In view of above, it is requested that looking into the geographically condition of Rajasthan all Audit Circles should only be stationed at Jaipur for smooth functioning of the Audit Commissionerate and staff welfare.