New Delhi. Discussions related to the 8th Pay Commission for central employees have intensified. This time, the eyes of the employees are not only on the basic salary and fitment factor, but also on the possible changes in performance pay and annual bonus. Employee organizations have placed before the Commission a demand to implement such a system in which employees doing better work can get additional financial benefits.
In fact, the Sixth Pay Commission had suggested a performance-based incentive scheme for government employees. After this, the 7th Pay Commission had also recommended the implementation of Performance Related Pay (PRP) for all categories of central employees. However, this system could not completely take off.
What can be the change in performance pay?
Employee organizations say that employees should get additional payment for good performance in addition to their regular salary and annual increment. The Ministerial Staff Association has proposed a Digital Efficiency Incentive. Under this, a demand has been made to give incentive amount to the employees who do better work on digital platforms like PFMS, GeM and eOffice. Besides, a suggestion has also come forward in APAR to give some part of the basic salary as variable pay on the basis of performance.
Demand also raised regarding bonus
Employee organizations of different departments have demanded improvement in the bonus system. The organization of railway technical employees has suggested implementing a group incentive scheme for employees working in coaching and wagon depots.
At the same time, the Postal Department organization has proposed to give additional bonus of 5 to 10 percent to the post offices that achieve better revenue targets. Apart from this, employee organizations want that a minimum guaranteed amount of bonus should also be fixed, so that employees do not have to completely depend on performance evaluation.
What is the biggest concern facing employees?
The biggest challenge in the system of performance pay is to objectively evaluate the work of the employees. It is not easy to measure the work in every department on a uniform scale. In such a situation, employees fear that their already received bonus may get affected due to performance based payment.
Railway Senior Citizens Welfare Society has also suggested that the incentive be kept as an additional benefit. This will not affect the basic salary, regular increment, allowances and pension related benefits of the employees.
What do employees expect from the 8th Pay Commission?
Now the biggest question is whether the 8th Pay Commission will recommend implementing performance pay in addition to the existing bonus and Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) or will bring in a new system by changing the old bonus system. At present these are the proposals and demands of the employee organizations, not the final recommendations of the Commission. In such a situation, employees will have to wait for the final decisions related to salary, bonus and additional incentives.