Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Our Story
    • Partner with us
    • Reach Us
    • Career
    Subscribe Newsletter
    HR KathaHR Katha
    • Exclusive
      • Exclusive Features
      • Research
      • Point Of View
      • Case In Point
      • Dialogue
      • Movement
      • Profile
      • Beyond Work
      • Rising Star
      • By Invitation
    • News
      • Global HR News
      • Compensation & Benefits
      • Diversity
      • Events
      • Gen Y
      • Hiring & Firing
      • HR & Labour Laws
      • Learning & Development
      • Merger & Acquisition
      • Performance Management & Productivity
      • Talent Management
      • Tools & Technology
      • Work-Life Balance
    • Special
      • Cover Story
      • Editorial
      • HR Forecast 2024
      • HR Forecast 2023
      • HR Forecast 2022
      • HR Forecast 2021
      • HR Forecast 2020
      • HR Forecast 2019
      • New Age Learning
      • Coaching and Training
      • Learn-Engage-Transform
    • Magazine
    • Reports
      • Whitepaper
        • HR Forecast 2024 e-mag
        • Future-proofing Manufacturing Through Digital Transformation
        • Employee Healthcare & Wellness Benefits: A Guide for Indian MSMEs
        • Build a Future Ready Organisation For The Road Ahead
        • Employee Experience Strategy
        • HRKatha 2019 Forecast
        • Decoding and Driving Employee Engagement
        • One Platform, Infinite Possibilities
      • Survey Reports
        • Happiness at Work
        • Upskilling for Jobs of the Future
        • The Labour Code 2020
    • Conferences
      • HRKatha Futurecast
      • Automation.NXT
      • The Great HR Debate
    • HR Jobs
    WhatsApp LinkedIn X (Twitter) Facebook Instagram
    HR KathaHR Katha
    Home»Expert's Desk»7th Pay Commission: While the government is a great employer, its employees are disappointing role models – Prabir Jha
    Expert's Desk

    7th Pay Commission: While the government is a great employer, its employees are disappointing role models – Prabir Jha

    mmBy Prajjal Saha | HRKathaNovember 23, 20153 Mins Read1386 Views
    Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
    Share
    LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

    Industry leaders share their perspectives on the 7th Pay Commission exclusively with HRKatha readers. Prabir Jha candidly dissects the recommendations and dwells on its flip side. 

    The Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations will predictably not please everyone. Some will criticise it for a less than expected increase, others for being overly liberal, especially to the extent of widening the ratio between the lowest paid and the highest paid.

    I believe it is not a path-breaking recommendation. It has shied away from some very strong options that it could have looked at. Just revising pay and allowances across the board is not enough. There is just no recommendation on accountability, productivity and affordability. No government will shy away from printing more currency notes to buy peace with a very important political constituency. But, it is another case of a missed opportunity to tie rewards with improved efficiency.

    Government servants can keep complaining about not getting corporate salaries. You cannot have the cake and eat it too! Job security is excessive in the government. Many people in premier services get promoted to higher levels without a commensurate change in expectations. Proliferation of senior level jobs is not in tandem with improved governance. I still strongly support higher compensation for senior-level jobs, provided they are not based on en masse batch elevations and misplaced upgradation of jobs, possibly even mandatory exits for those not making the threshold levels at different stages or ranks.

    The government, yet, has always been a great employer, even if its employees are not all great role models. Special child-care leave even for men is a great step forward. However, the payment in full for such leave is not understood. You can pay 50 per cent of the salary and allow lien on employment, but why this blind largesse when even the earlier offer for women for two years was most generous.

    Elimination of many allowances and subsidies may hurt union interests but this simplification and rationalisation was most needed as was the hike in gratuity limits (something that will have improved tax exemption limits even for non-governmental citizens eventually!)

    The lack of a clear recommendation to abolish the completely anachronistic IAS supremacy is disappointing. A single-digit difference in marks, once in a lifetime, cannot entitle anyone to a lifelong sinecure. Civil servants have to deliver or perish. Rewards can no longer be a matter of right. ‘One Rank, One Pension’ is a sensible call. But all the rewards and rising fiscal deficit ( to be made worse if state governments were to follow suit, as is expected) without any recommendations on reducing headcount or enforcing a higher performance standard, has been a tardy and toothless recommendation. There can be no expectation for better service but surely plenty of worries for the rest of us to pay higher taxes.

    Finally, it is surprising to see the ‘cut paste’ composition of the Pay Commission continue. A judge, a civil servant and an economist juggle as always in a world where so much contemporary HR advice is available. The lack of breakthrough thinking is then not surprising. As always, the recent Pay Commission has yet again appeased more, than written a new philosophy for government employees.

    (The author is a senior HR leader and a former civil servant. He is currently the global chief people officer at Cipla. The views expressed in the article are in personal capacity.)

    7th Pay Commission 7th pay commission analysis Central Government Employees Government Employees Impact of Pay commission Prabir Jha
    Share. LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
    mm
    Prajjal Saha | HRKatha

    Dr. Prajjal Saha, editor and publisher of HRKatha since 2015, leverages over 25 years of experience in business journalism, writing, and editing. He founded HRKatha to provide insightful analysis on the evolving workplace. With expertise spanning HR, marketing, distribution, and technology, Saha has a deep understanding of business dynamics. His authorship of the acclaimed Marketing White Book highlights his versatility beyond HR. A trusted voice across industries, his clear and thoughtful commentary has earned him a reputation for thought leadership, making him a reliable source of knowledge and insights for professionals navigating the complexities of the business world.

    4 Comments

    1. Rahul Mudgal on November 23, 2015 5:37 am

      Prabir, your article is pertinent and hits right at the heart of the issue. Still a far cry from the required culture of meritocracy, this entitlement-mindset is a panacea that continues to erode more value than ever. Coming from an ex-bureaucrat, it makes this all the more credible. I hope your voice is heard in the corridors that matter. Best wishes, Rahul

      Reply
    2. Lt Col S Venkataraman on November 23, 2015 6:48 am

      Very Well written. There could not have been better person articulating on 7th CPC than Mr. Prabir, himself being a civil servant once.

      Reply
    3. CG on November 23, 2015 1:06 pm

      True… entitlement and lack of accountability continue to be perpetuated for a large majority… If only there was differentiation for that minority who drive responsible and accountable governance..
      And if only the Government folks were reading this too 😉

      Reply
    4. tanmay on December 4, 2015 8:52 am

      The corporate honchos would actually be taken seriously only if they had managad their affairs with tangible prudence and objectivity. All of us would acknowledge that the so called voice the private sector today claims to have is singularly owing to certain innovative work done by the top bosses in seizing unique opportunities; the private sector has in no way been able to showcase a more credible and transparent approach in all their business practices. And had that been the case and above observations were far from truth, the country’s intellectual class and academicians would have certainly held a varied opinion about this sector and by now the parliament would have had atleast 2 nominees from private sector. No offence intended.

      Reply
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    ten − seven =

    Related Posts

    Stay available on phone 24×7: Punjab government tells staff

    April 29, 2025

    Madhya Pradesh announces 5% DA hike for state employees

    April 28, 2025

    Tawang MLA pushes for high altitude allowance for government employees

    March 13, 2025

    Unified Pension Scheme for government staff from April 2025

    January 27, 2025

    QUICK HR INSIGHTS

    EDITOR'S PICKS

    Three transformative HR roles of the future

    May 20, 2025

    How a German furniture giant in India is building tomorrow’s leaders from within

    May 19, 2025

    The quiet commute: How a digital detox is reshaping work-life balance

    May 16, 2025

    “Dark factories still a decade away from disrupting India’s employment market,” Sushil Baveja, CHRO, Jindal Stainless

    May 15, 2025
    Latest Post

    Central government employees likely to get pay hike under 8th Pay Commission

    News May 20, 2025

    A significant pay hike could be on the cards for Central government employees as discussions…

    Bharti AXA Life to empower youth & women with ‘BIMA Bharti’ programme

    News May 20, 2025

    Bharti AXA Life Insurance has introduced a new flagship apprenticeship initiative called BIMA BHARTI, aimed…

    Concerns mount over H-1B lottery as US tech sector faces continued layoffs

    News May 20, 2025

    The H-1B visa programme is once again under scrutiny following the US Citizenship and Immigration…

    By 2028 Deloitte will generate 500 tech jobs in Belfast

    Expansion May 20, 2025

    Deloitte, the professional services firm and a part of the Big 4, is establishing four…

    Asia's No.1 HR Platform

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn WhatsApp Bluesky
    • Our Story
    • Partner with us
    • Career
    • Reach Us
    • Exclusive Features
    • Cover Story
    • Editorial
    • Dive into the Future of Work: Download HRForecast 2024 Now!
    © 2025 HRKatha.com
    • Disclaimer
    • Refunds & Cancellation Policy
    • Terms of Service

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.