6th pay panel report likely by September

The 6th Pay Commission chairman M R Sreenivas Murthy on Saturday said there is no need for the commission to recommend to the state government to provide interim relief to its employees.

Interim relief is normally provided only if there is more than one-year delay in submitting the commission’s report to the government. As far as the 6th Pay Commission is concerned, the government has asked it to submit the report in four months. Efforts are being made to submit the report by September this year, he told reporters.

Murthy said the government spends Rs 36,000 crore annually on salaries and pensions. The commission will look into all aspects, including demands of the employees, cost of living and financial condition of the government, before preparing its report. The commission has an open mind as far as the employees’ demands are concerned, he added.

Currently, the government has 5.20 lakh employees against the sanctioned posts of 7.73 lakh. There are around 6 lakh pensioners. The commission has scheduled a meeting with
representatives of the state government employees’ association on July 27. A questionnaire will be circulated to both the employees and the general public in order to ascertain their expectations from the government, he added.