Unforgettable Year for Central Government Employees..! 2014
2014
was a year of expectations, disappointments, and trials and
tribulations for Central Government Employees and Pensioners too.
About
Central Government Employees at a glance 2014 – This article brings you some important events and announcements…
Strike: The
year began with a collective decision of all employees federations to
go on a strike demanding, among other things, 50% DA merger, and date of
effect of the 7th CPC. When it became clear that there was going to be a
change of government at the Centre, the federations began to plan their
moves in order to somehow convince the Congress Government to accept
their demands. At last, the Confederation alone held protests on
February 10 and 11. Other federations announced that they want to
resolve the issue by holding talks and withdrew their strike plans. But
the Central Government remained unmoved.
Retirement Age:
A huge rumour started that in a desperate attempt to secure votes, the
party at the Centre would be more than willing to raise the retirement
age from 60 to 62. Despite a number of questions that were raised in the
Parliament, and clarifications that were given for it, the topic
somehow never quite died away. At least once every year, the issue makes
headlines and vanishes.
7th Pay Scale: All
the employees federations and associations, including the National
Council – JCM, presented separate memorandums to the 7th Pay Commission
listing their demands and expectations. Of particular interest was the
‘Expected Pay Structure‘, which described how the new pay package should
be.
Income Tax:
Since there were earlier news that the new income tax limit would
likely be raised to Rs. 5 lakhs, a lot was expected from Arun Jaitley.
But, he raised the income tax limit to Rs. 2.5 lakhs and the 80C limits
to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs.
6-day work week: A
lot of buzz was created when news appeared that 6-day work week was
going to be soon implemented, particularly in Delhi circle.
Aadhaar Based Biometric Attendance System: Biometric
attendance system, based on finger prints, were implemented in Central
Government offices all over the country. Aadhaar Card-based attendance
system was also introduced.
Air Travel on LTC: The
popular air travel LTC facility was extended by another two years in
September. In addition to J&K and NER, the facility now covers
Andaman and Nicobar Islands too.
New announcements kept pouring in after Modi Government took charge.
Clean India:
Orders were issued to clean up the country under the ‘Swachh Bharat’
mission. Since the movement was going to be launched on October 2, the
birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the national holiday was cancelled.
Declaration of Assets: Central Government employees were asked to submit information about their assets and debts to the government.
Digital Life Certificates: In November, the Central Government made arrangements to issue Aadhaar Card-based ‘Digital Life Certificates’ for pensioners.
Retirement Age 58: Fear
and tension prevailed among Central Government employees when
announcements appeared that the Centre was actually planning to reduce
the retirement age. The Government then denied such plans.
Source:
www.7thpaycommissionnews.in
Recently the news about retirement age
is blown out of proportion in Social Media. In Social Media it has been
signaled casually that the retirement age will be brought down to 58
years. Initially it was said that 7th pay commission going to recommend
the criteria for retirement age as either 33 years of Service or 60
Years of age whichever comes first.
