Sixth Pay Commission-The Long Wait

Central Govt employees have been waiting patiently for the 6th CPC to submit its report. Now that the report has been submitted, they are in a confusion as to when and how it will be implemented. Armed forces and IPS have objected strongly to the recommendation which they say is favourable for IAS while discriminating other services. Somehow the commission has got the idea that by rewarding few IAS officers the entire govt machinery is going to be revitalised. Far from that, such a move is going to demoralise other officers and lead to more attrition and corruption among those remaining in service. The Govt cannot hope to compete with the private sector in terms of salaries and benefits and considering the fact that the remuneration of Govt employees is going to remain the same for the next decade until the 7th pay commission is implemented, its a very delicate situation. While living standards of those working in the private sector is improving day by day, Govt employees find that they are being pushed into a corner. With such a huge population, our country may not find it difficult to fill up vacant posts in Govt offices, but this would be at the expense of talent, merit and performance.
Now that inflation has reared its ugly head, and Left parties pressurising the Govt on many issues, it would be left with no other option than to placate Govt employees before the next elections. The trend in Karnataka and other states indicate that the Congress is losing ground. Hence it can be expected from the ruling party to implement the 6th CPC in August-September 2008.