Hyderabad: Delayed Dearness Allowance (DA) payments and the inordinate delay in implementing the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) have become pressing concerns for government employees and teachers.
At a recent meeting, MLC Alugubelli Narsireddy urged the state government to address these issues on priority as a measure of delivering on its commitments.
“The government must implement the PRC recommendations from July 1, 2023, and release the four pending DA instalments without any further delay,” Narsireddy said while addressing a gathering of teachers and employees.
The meeting, under the aegis of the Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF), discussed the financial strain caused by the delay in payments.
The proposal to increase the retirement age as a means to defer pension payments was met with strong opposition.
“Raising the retirement age is not a solution to financial problems, it is a mere postponement of the pressing issue,” said a senior teacher.
The federation stressed that this move could have adverse effects on job opportunities for younger employees.
Other key demands included providing minimum time scales for contract employees in KGBVs, URSs, and ashram schools and revising working hours in gurukuls. The gathering called for increased budget allocation to education, aiming for 15 per cent of the state budget, and a six per cent GDP allocation at the national level.
The meeting saw support for the rollback of the National Education Policy (NEP) and reinstatement of the old pension scheme. Increasing income tax exemption limit to Rs 8 lakh and raising the tax rebate on savings to Rs 5 lakh were also deliberated upon.
