Budget Fails To Meet Expectations Of Government Employees – C. Srikumar, GS/AIDEF & National Secretary/AITUC

OPINION PIECE

The only announcement made by the Finance Minister in the Budget pertaining to the Government Employees is only about the modification to be made in the NPS, when the Central and State Government Employees are fighting for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. Even no much relief has been given in the Income Tax. No other announcement like setting up of 8th pay Commission etc., were in the Budget.

C. Srikumar, General Secretary of AIDEF and National Secretary of AITUC says that the Union Budget has failed to reach the expectation of the Government Employees & Pensioners. Not only the Government Employees, the entire working class and their Trade Unions are totally disappointed with the Budget. One thing the Government comfortably forgets, is that the workforce of the country is the wealth creators, it is they who produce everything and on which the Government collects GST, the main source of revenue for the Government. Again the same workers pays GST to the items whatever they purchase from the market for their needs. Over and above this they are the true Tax payers of the country. It is the workforce who generates revenue for the Government. All the proposals given by the Central Trade Unions to the Finance Minister with regard to the working masses to be included in the Budget, have been conveniently ignored.

No Government employee or their organisation have demanded for improvement in the NPS, the unanimous demand is only to scrap the NPS and restore the back Old Pension Scheme. The Govt. employees don’t come to the job through campus interviews or recommendations. They have to undergo series of selection procedures and examination to get qualified for a job. Attraction towards Government jobs was due to job security and Non-Contributory Pension benefits, even though they are entangled with hundreds of restrictions in the name of Conduct Rules. The Government employees Pension right is a fundamental right as already declared by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has categorically ruled that Pension is not a bounty, Pension is not an ex-gratia, Pension is not something which is given according to the Sweet will of the Employer. It is a fundamental right of every Government Employee. The Government, which is expected to be a model employer, is not honouring the Supreme Court verdict. The NPS employees after retirement have to keep 40% of their service time accumulated savings with the PFRDA authorities and from which they are getting only paltry pension of Rs. 2000 to Rs. 4000 at the Group-C level whose number is more in Government. While the Government is happy in giving all types of benefits and relief to the Corporate houses including foreign companies, the working class including the Government employees are completely neglected.

More than 15 lakh employees in the Government of India are under the NPS. Their demand of restoring the Old Pension Scheme has been rejected by the Government. The Central Government Employees will not accept the injustice meted to them. They will fight to get back their Pension rights. Government Employees and Pensioners were expecting that the Government will pay back the 18 months DA arrears, which was illegally frozen during the Covid-19 pandemic. Govt. has snatched this from the employees & pensioners, which is against the Supreme Court Judgment. No announcement in this Budget in this regard. It is already 8 years after the implementation of 7th pay Commission.

The 7th Pay Commission has recommended that there should be periodical wage revision which the Government, has not accepted. Any Pay Commission if constituted will take more than 2 years to submit its report. It is the right time to appoint the 8th Pay Commission, since as per today’s life requirement a minimum salary of Rs. 40,000 is required at the entry level. The Finance Minister has made no announcement on setting up of 8th Central Pay Commission.

More than 20 lakh posts are lying vacant in the Government Departments and all these vacant posts are abolished to show to the public that less number of posts are lying vacant. No announcement in the Budget for generating employment in Government Sector and Public Sector. It is only the Government & Public Sector which have got reservation to give jobs to the socially and economically down trodden youth from the OBC, SC/ST communities. No action programme has been announced in the budget to fill up the vacancies.

While discussing about the employment in the Budget, since unemployment was a major issue in the elections and even today, the Union Finance Minister has only mentioned about generating employment in private sector, where there is no reservation and no permanency of job. In Government Departments, Public Sector and in private Sector, contract and Fixed Term Employment has become the order of the day. In all these sectors in the name of “apprentice” youth are deployed on all type of jobs and they are completely exploited by not even paying them the minimum wages. Even the Public Sector banks have now started recruiting youth in the name of Apprentice Training, with no job guarantee. In Armed Forces also Fixed Term Employment “Agniveer” has come to effect.

Today in the Government since there has been no recruitment for the past so many years even the lowest paid employees and the pensioners are getting more than Rs. 3 lakh as Annual Income. In the Budget Tax Relief is given only to those whose income is up to Rs. 3 lakh. This limit should have been at least increased to Rs.5 lakh.

In total, the Budget is designed and drafted to help Private and Foreign corporate and not for the common man of the country. Budget failed in meeting the expectation of the Government employees who are the back bone of the governance of our great country, concluded C.Srikumar.