Government clears pay hike for TNEB employees

CHENNAI: The TNEB management has decided to give

2.57% wage hike

to all its employees, overruling the objection raised by finance secretary K Shanmugam. The decision to award the hike was taken at a high level meeting in which chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and Shanmugam as well as representatives of TNEB were present.

A week ago, the finance secretary had sent an advisory to TNEB management asking it to desist from sanctioning 2.57% hike as the pay drawn by TNEB employees would be higher than that of

government

employees. The decision of the high level meeting has not been formally announced yet. It is expected to come in the next few days.

“The high level meeting decided to sanction the hike as demanded by TNEB employees. It was the norm in TNEB even when J Jayalalithaa or M Karunanidhi was the chief minister. Though there were some opposition to the proposal of 2.57% hike, and apprehensions were raised as to whether it would create more problems from transport department employees, who also seek the same hike, chief minister and other ministers decided to give in to the workers’ demand,” said a government official.

Giving a detailed calculation to show that there is already a gap between salaries drawn by government employees and TNEB workers, Shanmugam wanted the TNEB management to implement two wage agreements, one for the workers coming under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 and another for officers. Giving 2.57% hike for all TNEB employees would mean that they would draw 2.76% more than government employees, he argued.

In the advisory, the secretary argued that the energy department and Tangedco chairman should explore possibilities to ensure that the pay revisions for officers and workers are worked out separately. Salary for officers - from the level of assistant audit officer to chief financial controller, including engineers - must be revised only once in 10 years as is the case with government employees, said the secretary.