The move comes as the Commission begins its work on reviewing the salary and retirement benefits of state government employees.
Importantly, the Commission has not made any recommendations on pay, allowances, pension or other benefits so far, a senior official said after its first meeting at the state secretariat Nabanna.
The Commission has also cautioned employees and other stakeholders against relying on information or documents circulating on social media. The upcoming website will serve as the authorised source for information related to the panel’s work.
What will the West Bengal Pay Commission review?
The Commission has been asked to examine the existing pay structure of state government employees, along with dearness allowance (DA), special allowances and other benefits.
One of the key areas under review is the annual increment. Employees currently receive an annual increment of 3%. The Commission will examine whether this could be increased to 5%.
It will also look at the possibility of bringing the pay levels of West Bengal government employees closer to those of Central government employees.
Other allowances under review include house rent allowance, transport allowance, children’s education allowance and hostel subsidy.
The Commission will also examine how initial pay should be fixed under a revised pay structure.
Pension and retirement benefits under review
The review will extend beyond salaries and allowances to retirement benefits.
The Commission will examine the method of revising pensions for retired employees. It will also consider issues such as the restoration of commuted pension after 11 years, leave encashment at retirement and an additional increment for employees retiring on June 30.
These recommendations, if made and subsequently accepted by the state government, could affect the salary and retirement benefits of eligible employees. However, the Commission is currently only examining these issues and there is no decision yet on any increase.
What happens next?
At its first meeting, the Commission reviewed the existing position of various government services, organisations, corporations and undertakings that fall within its scope. It also discussed the broad roadmap for its work.
The dedicated website is expected to be launched shortly. It will allow employees and other stakeholders to access official notifications and submit memoranda, views and relevant data to the Commission.
The Commission is headed by retired IAS officer Atanu Chakraborty. Partha Mukhopadhyay, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, and Parthapratim Pal, professor of economics at IIM Calcutta, are its members. IAS officer Debiprasad Karnam is the member-secretary.
For employees, the immediate takeaway is that the review process has started, but there is no confirmed salary, DA or pension hike yet. Any change will depend on the Commission’s eventual recommendations and the state government’s decision on them.
-With PTI inputs
