Over 1.6 million employees working in the estimated 240 central public sector undertakings (PSUs) are likely to receive a 50 to 60 per cent salary increase, possibly with retrospective effect from January 2006. |
The second PSU pay revision committee, headed by former Supreme Court Justice M Jagannadha Rao, is in advanced stages of finalising its award due April-end and plans to submit its report to the government soon after. |
Officials in the know of the committee deliberations added that two chapters of the report have already been finalised. |
A committee member told Business Standard that PSU salaries cannot be equated with government wages as the public sector has to compete with private companies that offer much higher compensation. |
“The sixth Pay Commission report has also said that PSU salaries should not be linked to government. We are taking a realistic view of the situation,” he said. |
On public sector companies’ demand for a 100 per cent increase, the member said the committee “would take into account all such demands”. |
“In 1997, when PSU pays were last revised, the hike in some scales was as much as 68 per cent. This time I expect a raise of 55 to 60 per cent, especially because of the overall growth in PSU profitability,” a serving director of a top-ranked PSU said. |
By this reckoning, the chairman of a schedule A (top-ranked navratnas like Indian Oil, ONGC and NTPC, among others) central PSU, whose annual cost to company (CTC) works out to Rs 12 lakh to Rs 14 lakh, could earn a gross Rs 20 lakh after the award. |
This will be far in excess of what an additional secretary in the government of India will get on account of the new Pay Commission award. |
At the bottom of the PSU pay scale, an entry level attendant in a leading power PSU has a CTC of around Rs 22,000 per month, which could go up to Rs 33,000. |
Constituted in November 2006, the committee was given 18 months to submit its report. The members include Nitish Sengupta, chairman, Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises; P C Parakh, former secretary, Department of Coal; and R S S L N Bhaskarudu, former director, Maruti Udyog Ltd and former chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board. Source : Business Standard News Paper |