Government employees pay vs private sector: Court raises point over salaries

Madras High Court has slammed the Tamil Nadu government over a big gap in the salaries of employees of the government and private companies. The court said that the government employees talk so much about their rights, but they should also discharge their duties. The bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and S S Sundar was hearing a petition relating to anomalies in the pay and the recent strike by government employees and teachers.

The bench said that the pay gap between the government and private employees is widening after the implementation of every pay commission. It said that the work of government employees was as important as their demands. The court also pointed out that the children of government employees do not study in state-run schools. It asked why there shouldn't be a rule to ensure that the children of government staff be put only in state-run schools. 

The bench also noted that those children who studied in a private school seek admission in a government college. 

A PTI report said that the Counsel for Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisations (JACTO-GEO), which spearheaded the strike, submitted that though the government was given time to rectify the pay anomalies and several guidelines were issued, no action was taken. It said 71 paise out of every rupee of the government's income was spent on its employees and teachers, and added the steps are being taken to bridge the pay gap. 

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It's notable that the salaries of government employees is often two to four times higher than that of private employees.