8th Pay Commission: 5 cadre management changes proposed by NC-JCM Staff Side

As the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) continues to collect relevant data for framing its recommendations, the Staff Side of the NC-JCM has proposed at least five changes related to cadre management of central government employees. One of the biggest changes proposed by the Staff Side is about equal pay for equal work.

"Equal Pay for Equal Work should be ensured. Categories having the same qualification and skill requirement etc., should not be discriminated in the matter of Pay Scales and Career Progression. The Hon'ble Supreme Court have several times upheld the constitutional principle of equal pay for equal work," the Staff Side said in their memorandum to the 8th CPC.

The Staff Side further said that disparity in the matter of pay scales, promotional prospects etc., between one ministry and the other may also be dispensed with in identical categories.

The following are the four other changes proposed by the staff side for cadre management

1. Stop outsourcing of central government jobs

Sharing their views in a memorandum to the 8th CPC, the NC-JSM Staff side said, "8th CPC may recommend that outsourcing of Central Government jobs may be dispensed with and all the posts lying vacant in Railways, Defence, Postal, Income Tax, Audit & Accounts etc may be filled up through direct recruitment and promotion."

The Staff Side also shared the following reasons to convince the 8th CPC to stop outsourcing of jobs:

• Outsourcing of permanent jobs in the Central Government Departments/Establishments is increasing day by day. This is not in the interest of quality job/quality services and in the national interest.

• There are almost 15 lakh posts lying vacant in all the Central Government Ministries/Departments. It is not that these posts are not required to be filled. Non filling of these posts result in added work pressure and stress on the existing employees.

• The out sourced workers/contract workers are exploited and government being a model employer should not allow such exploitation.

• During COVID-19 pandemic when the entire nation went on Lock Down it was only the government employees who worked risking their life day and night to keep the government machinery running. Many employees died due to Corona infection. Even compassionate appointment was not given to the dependents of the employees who died in the pandemic.

2. Recruitment of non-gazetted posts at regional level

"Recruitment of all Non-Gazetted Categories should be made at the Regional Level instead of All India Level to avoid the rate of attrition in the Central Government Departments / Establishments," the Staff Side said.

3. Removal of discrimination between central secretariat and field unit

"The categorization of discrimination between Central Secretariat and Field Unit Cadre created by the Britishers continuous even today. Higher Pay Structure is provided for employees working in the secretariat and employees of Subordinate offices (Field Offices) were placed in comparatively lower pay scale structure," the Staff Side said.

"The 8th CPC may take a serious note of this and recommend to ensure that the parity of pay structure of timing in the secretariat and the Field Offices is maintained and it is extended to all Pay scales beyond that of the Assistants up to the level of Under Secretary," they added

4. Cadre Review for Group B & C

The Staff said that periodical and mandatory review take place every five years for Group A services, no such review take place with regard to Group B & C. "No Cadre Review take place for more than a decades in different categories. For eg., the Cadre Review / Inter Grade Revision of the Artisan Staff has not taken place in the Ministry of Defence after 2010," they said.

"We propose that in accordance with various Court Judgments when ever promotion of the employees are delay due to the mistake of administration in such cases promotion may be given retrospectively from the date of availability of vacancy," the Staff Side said.

"The DoP&T instructions dated.30.09.2022, clearly stipulates that every cadre should be reviewed once in five years and such review should be done in consultation with the representatives of the service / cadre in question no such consultation take place and in the name of creating some higher posts entry level post / lower-level post including promotional posts are abolished in the name of matching saving. These are all the major concerns which the employees and their organization are facing," they added.