Special monetary gift to Himachal roadways department employees before Diwali

The employees of this northern state would receive a special monetary gift before the festival of Diwali. Although the 7th Pay Commission is not applicable in Himachal Pradesh, as many as 12 thousand employees of Roadways department would get increased dearness allowance (DA) by 8%. They are also likely to get the pending interim relief (IR) arrears. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) management has discussed this proposal in a recent meeting.

Notably, the 7th Pay Commission is not applicable in Himachal Pradesh, but it generally follows the decisions of the Punjab government. The Punjab government is yet to implement the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission in the state.

In the meeting, Himachal employees had reportedly placed more demands, in which 16 demands were agreed. These demands include raising the salary of 1800 drivers and conductors on contract. Right now, a conductor gets a fixed salary of Rs 5500 while a driver gets a salary of Rs 7200 a month. Now conductors will get Rs 7810 a month, and drivers will get Rs 8310 a month.

Reports say that employees would also get 13% Pending Interim Relief (IR) Dearness Allowance (DA), along with their overtime dues.

The meeting also accepted the following demands

1. Night overtime on every 22nd day of the month
2. DA, arrears before Diwali
3. Peacemeal workers will also be brought under contract
4. Drivers will get the designation of senior driver, and pay scale too
5. Recruitment and promotion rules for technical staff

Central employees are also waiting for hike in their DA. Once the DA of the central employees increases, the state governments will also implement it. If DA increases by 5%, then the salary of the top level officer from the lower level will increase from Rs 900 to Rs 12500.

Source: zeebiz