Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/railways-to-give-pay-grade-upgradation-to-over-80-000-field-officers-govt-11668618970738.html
Publisher: Live Mint
To improve the pay scale of around 80,000 employees facing stagnation in their jobs, the Indian railways have announced a new provision under which its supervisory cadre will have a chance to reach higher pay grades equivalent to Group A officers.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on 16 November announced the new provision and said that there was stagnation of supervisory cadre of railway in Level-7 and the scope of their promotion was negligible.
“There was a long pending demand for upgradation of supervisory cadre since the last 16 years. The only scope of promotion was selection in 3,712 vacancies by giving exam in Group ‘B’. Now provision has been made for 50 per cent people from Level 7 to go to Level 8,” news agency PTI quoted the minister as saying.
“Provision has been made for promotion of 50 per cent people in non functional grade from Level-8 to Level 9 in four years,” he said.
As per details, the new provision is expected to benefit 40,000 such supervisor grade employees like station masters, ticket checkers, traffic inspectors, among others whom the minister described as “field level workers”.
With the pay grade hike, employees will get an average of ₹2,500 to ₹4,000 per month extra salary. Also, this will entail a ₹10,000 crore increase in the wage bill.
However, Vaishnaw said that the step will be financially neutral as it will be compensated primarily from the savings that the railways has made in its diesel bill.
Also, this new provision will benefit supervisors of civil, mechanical, electrical, S&T traffic chemical and S&T, metallurgical, stores, and commercial departments.
“As a result of vigorous persuasions of the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) with the Ministry of Railways as well as DoP&T and MoF(DoE), the proposal of the Railway Board regarding upgradation of pay scales of supervisors from erstwhile GP (grade pay) ₹4,600 up to ₹5,400, has been approved by the finance ministry…,” Shiva Gopal Mishra, general secretary, AIRF said.
