CM Pinarayi Vijayan said COVID-19 has had a huge economic impact. “Kerala has been hit badly and we are a consumer state. (File Photo)
The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday decided to deduct one month’s salary over five months from government employees, PSU workers and staff of quasi-government institutions in order to mop up resources during the economic crisis stemming from the lockdown.
A 30 per cent cut in monthly salary will be effected for ministers, legislators and members of all governing boards for a year. Elected members in the three-tier local bodies will also take a 30 per cent cut in honorarium.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan said COVID-19 has had a huge economic impact. “Kerala has been hit badly and we are a consumer state. The state is going through a fiscal crisis as tax collection revenue has fallen drastically and remittances from expatriates have also stopped… Expenses for healthcare services and food safety are unavoidable…”
He said that government employees and their organisations expressed willingness to contribute one month’s salary to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. Accordingly, the salary for six days every month will be deducted for the next five months. Those earning less than Rs 20,000 a month will be exempted, the CM said.
Kerala reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday — seven from Kannur, two in Kasargod, and one each from Kottayam and Malappuram. Five of them came from abroad and three were infected through a primary contact. One person is a health worker and two are house surgeons at Kozhikode Medical College.
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