Andhra Pradesh staff waits for pay hike

Hyderabad: Lakhs of employees are waiting for the AP Cabinet’s decision on payment of the Pay Revision Commission arrears. Officials have proposed two modes of payments, which the government will have to decide on April 22.

The AP government has to pay around Rs 500 crore to employees as PRC arrears. In the combined state, the government had paid 27 per cent interim relief to the employees and after the state bifurcation, the AP government had decided to pay 43 per cent fitment hike to the employees from June 2, 2014.

The government now has to pay 16 per cent arrears from June 2, 2014 to March 31, 2015.  According to AP finance department officials, the government needs around Rs 500cr to pay the total arrears.

General convention is that the state credits the arrears into employees’ GPF account, and AP employees are demanding that the same procedure be followed. But the government is not in a position to pay the arrears at one go.

Meanwhile, on the directions of the state government, finance department officials proposed two modes of payments. One is to pay arrears into the employees’ GPF accounts in installments over four years, and the second to issue post-dated bonds.

Employees, meanwhile, say that if the government credits the amount into their GPF accounts, they will be able to draw it within one week, but if the government issues bonds, they won’t get the money immediately.

Officials also pointed out that those employees who would retire within the next four years would be paid the total arrears on his or her retirement day.