Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered that the outstanding 20 per cent arrears of the employees of the state government, under the Seventh Pay Commission, be cleared. The employees will now receive the outstanding amount along with their salaries for March 2022.
Earlier, 80 per cent of the outstanding amount as per the Seventh Pay Commission slab was cleared. The remaining 20 per cent which was due to the almost four lakh employees of the Odisha government will now be cleared too. A sum of Rs 850 crore has been allocated in the 2021-22 supplementary budget to help cover this expense.
With effect from January 2016, the Government of Odisha had implemented the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. As a result, employees had started receiving increased salaries with effect from September 2017. It was decided that the employees will be paid a 20-month increase in arrears for the January 2014 to August 2018 period, in instalments.
As was decided then, 40 per cent of the hiked salary was paid in 2016-17, while 10 per cent was paid in 2019-20 and 30 per cent in 2021-22. Pensioners have also received their full salaries.
In December 2021, the state government had hiked dearness allowance (DA) by three per cent, benefitting about 7.5 lakh employees and pensioners.
The salaries of junior teachers employed in Odisha government’s primary schools were also hiked by 50 per cent in January this year.
