The Hindu : Front Page : EC tells State to put off salary revision

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 04, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

EC tells State to put off salary revision

Special Correspondent

Employees seek Chandy's apology

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Friday told the State Government to put on hold its decision to implement the Pay Commission recommendations from April.

A communication to this effect has been sent to the Chief Secretary of the State in response to a letter seeking permission to implement the recommendations with immediate effect.

On Thursday, the State Cabinet had approved the major recommendations of the Pay Commission without any modifications. However, while announcing the decision of the Cabinet, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had said that the implementation of the decision would be subject to the approval of the Election Commission.

Had the Election Commission allowed its implementation, Government employees of the State would have got revised salaries from April 2006 (salary for March).

In its letter to the State Government, the Election Commission said that since the Model Code of Conduct for elections was in place with the announcement of elections on March 1, the Pay Commission recommendations could be implemented only after the polls.

Transfers stayed

Also, the Election Commission has stayed the transfer of five District Collectors. The State Government had ordered the transfer of the Collectors of Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad on the morning of March 1, a few hours before the commission announced the poll schedule for five State Assemblies, including Kerala.

Our Special Correspondent adds from Thiruvananthapuram: The Joint Council of Service Organisations said that Mr Chandy should apologise to State employees and teachers for his Government's failure to implement the recommendations of the Pay Commission.

In a statement here on Friday, Joint Council general secretary C.R. Jose Prakash said the Chandy Government had earned the dubious distinction of being the only Government with a five-year tenure to have denied the benefit of pay revision to the employees. It had done this by deliberately delaying a decision on wage revision. The decision could have been taken well before the Assembly election was announced, he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail