Employees oppose further delay in PRC, plan meet on Tuesday

Hyderabad: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Employees and Pensioners has said further extension of the term of the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) will not be tolerated any more. The JAC leaders have written letters to the chief minister and the chief secretary stating, "No more extension of the PRC term." They will meet on April 7 to plan the next course of action.Though the latest PRC was appointed over two years ago during the previous BRS govt, new pay scales for govt employees and pensioners were yet to be implemented. Deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka had announced on the floor of the House in the recently concluded budget session of the assembly that the govt would implement PRC, but only after studying the report of the PRC. The report was yet to be submitted.JAC secretary-general Eluri Sreenivasa Rao said they have written to the CM and the CS stating that there was a growing unease and discontent among employees and pensioners due to delay in the PRC submitting its report. Then, there are four pending Dearness Allowance (DAs) and over 10,000 crore pending bills despite govt releasing 700 crore every month.Former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao had constituted the second PRC on Oct 2, 2023, and gave it a target to submit its recommendations within six months. KCR also announced a 5% interim relief for employees at that time. The PRC is headed by retired IAS officer N Sivashankar.Earlier, the first PRC of Telangana, constituted in July 2018, submitted its report in Dec 2020, following which the then BRS govt had announced a 30 % fitment (a hike in basic pay) in March 2021, with the revised pay scales coming into effect from April 2021."We (JAC) are meeting on April 7 to chalk out our future course of action. The JAC leaders are under tremendous pressure from employees and pensioners, with some of them accusing the top leaders of going soft on govt. Govt should direct the PRC to submit its report and implement new pay scales. We are demanding a 50% fitment," a JAC leader said.However, sources in govt said implementation of the new pay scales might take time. An official said even if govt announces a 20% fitment, it would cost between 7,000 crore and 8,000 crore on the state exchequer. There are 7.5 lakh employees and pensioners who are eligible for the new PRC, as of date.