7th pay commission for CG, other staff in the news, but what of private sector? Pay hikes set to hit this double-digit mark
7th pay commission: As far as pay hikes go, the staff that has constantly been in the news are state and central government employees, including teachers and others. The private sector employees less so. Most of the hikes happen behind closed doors and in the confines of the four walls of the corporates. In government sector, things are happening more in the public domain. Central government employees are vociferously demanding a major hike in the fitment factor by which their pay should be hiked under the aegis of the 7th pay commission (they want it to jump from current 2.57 times to 3.68 times), but that has so far had no effect on the government. On the other hand, the private sector employees have gone through a major appraisal process this and all eyes are now turned to next year. Notably, a survey looks to shed light on how high their salary hikes can be in 2019. Image source: PTI
Despite rising oil prices and depreciation of Indian rupee affecting Indian economy's current account deficit, there is a positive news for the country's working classes, who are likely to be benefitted ahead of the 2019 general elections. Prediction by the Willis Towers Watson’s 2018 Salary Budget Planning Report is for a 10 per cent rise in the salaries of Indian employees in the coming year. Image source: Reuters
According to the report released by global advisory, broking and solutions company, Willis Towers Watson, India will witness the highest salary hikes in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Indonesia at 8.3%, China at 6.9%, Philippines at 6%, and both Hong Kong and Singapore at 4%. Indian employees, therefore, can be optimistic to have an average salary increment of 10% in 2019, same as the actual salary increases in the past three consecutive years, due to steady economic growth, and progressive economic reform progammmes, according to the report. Image source: PTI
Sambhav Rakyan of Willis Towers Watson for the Asia Pacific, has reportedly attributed India’s continuous growth in salary increments to the steady economic growth, progressive reforms and cautious optimism across sectors, suggesting that Indian companies might not witness much growth in salaries as compared to the MNCs operating in the country. Image source: PTI
Rakyan added, “MNCs that typically have KPO/BPO or manufacturing operations in India will likely see average salary increases around the 10% mark, as in dollar terms this is not a significant increase to their cost of operations. However, Indian companies will likely see a lower salary increase which is more directly linked to their financial performance.” Image source: Reuters
According to the report, pharmaceutical employees will be the top gainers with a projected salary hike of 10.3%, followed by consumer products and retail firms (10%) due to a revival in consumer sentiment. Further, the financial services sector, comprising banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs) and insurance firms are likely to witness a steady rise in increments from 9.3% in 2018 to 9.6% in 2019, the report said. The report stated that the figures may change in the near future due to the high adoption of workplace automation, artificial intelligence and robotics that will reshape a new combination of work, talent, skills requirements and work relationships. Image source: PTI