There may soon be relief news for lakhs of government employees and pensioners of West Bengal. The state government can make an important announcement regarding dearness allowance and its outstanding payment in the upcoming budget.
Employee organizations believe that a positive decision on this issue can be taken in the state budget to be presented on June 22.
According to representatives of state employee organizations, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has assured that the Supreme Court’s instructions regarding payment of DA dues will be followed. In February this year, the Supreme Court had said in its decision that dearness allowance is the statutory right of the employees and the state government should pay the dues between 2008 and 2019.
What did the Chief Minister say?
The Chief Minister also informed that by settling the DA arrears between 2016 to 2019 and the cases related to the last pay commission, payments have been made to about three lakh employees and pensioners. This has also given hope to the remaining employees that their dues will be resolved soon.
At present, central government employees are getting 60 percent dearness allowance, while West Bengal employees are getting only 18 percent DA. In such a situation, there is a huge difference of about 42 percent between the two. Employees have been raising their voice regarding this for a long time. Meanwhile, in the cabinet meeting held at the State Secretariat Nabanna on May 18, in-principle approval has been given for the formation of the Seventh State Pay Commission. It is believed that this commission will make important recommendations regarding amendments in the salary framework and DA of government employees.