7th Pay Commission: Will the government fulfill central government employees demands ahead of general elections?

7th Pay Commission: The wait for lakhs of central government employees seems to be unending for their minimum pay and fitment factor hike beyond the 7th CPC recommendations from this year. However, ahead of general elections there is silence and positive signs are being looked for by employees over whether their demands will be fulfilled with the state governments about to face assembly elections, and then there are the general elections 2019 looming. Some state governments have already extended sops to their employees and are promising more. The long pending issue of the central government employees has so far been raised, but not very forcefully, by the unions after June 2016. They are eyeing government movement on the issue based on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's words said in Parliament to look into the matter. This has served so far to placate them even as other official sources have announced disappointing news. Some protests by different segments of employees and pensioners have though started.
 
Although the major announcement is yet to come from the central government, there are other developments related to the 7th Pay commission salary hikes announcement. Check them out here:

1.  7th Pay Commission: Just days ago, teachers and non-teaching employees of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan held a big protest outside the KVS headquarters in Delhi through which they sought to highlight their plight. They are demanding that 7th Pay Commission recommendations must also be implemented for them. They came in big numbers from across a various states to stage the protest, which was held last Monday.

2. 7th Pay Commission: Recently, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting in connection with the implementation of seventh pay commission in the state. After the meeting, Sharma told media persons, “Tripura CM is working hard on the issue of implementing seventh pay commission for the government employees. The idea is to clear it as early as possible.” The implementation of the 7th pay commission within three months was one of the poll promises made by the BJP during Tripura polls.

3. 7th Pay Commission: Indian Railways staff now for the first time will be able to avail Leave Travel Concession (LTC). The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on March 27, citing the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, said that government servants and their spouses, working in Indian Railways, are entitled for the LTC facility. It had also stated that railway employees shall continue to be governed by the Railway Servants (Pass) Rules and availing of the “All India LTC” under the CCS (LTC) Rules by them will be facilitated through a special order under the relevant provision of the said Pass Rules.

4. Last month, the Madhya Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan decided to increase the retirement age of the state government employees from 60 to 62 years just to placate them ahead of the assembly polls. 

Watch this Zee Business video on 7th pay commission

 
5. The Central government is also reportedly toying with the idea to increase the retirement age of the central government employees. However, the government is yet to give any clue in this regard.