- Consultations for the 8th Central Pay Commission are ongoing with various stakeholder inputs
- IRTSA requested a minimum basic salary revision to Rs 52,600 and higher fitment factors
- The association proposed Senior Section Engineer be classified under Group-B gazetted status
Consultations for the 8th Central Pay Commission are underway. The Indian Railways Technical Supervisors' Association (IRTSA) is among the groups asking for salary revisions from the central government.
In a memorandum submitted during an interaction with the 8th Pay Commission on May 19 in Hyderabad, IRTSA proposed a hike in minimum pay and higher fitment factors for technical workers.
IRTSA demanded that the minimum basic salary should be revised to Rs 52,600. It also asked for classifying the post of Senior Section Engineer under Group-B gazetted status. Further it also proposed separate fitment factors for different categories of workers.
The fitment factor is used to calculate the extent to which existing salaries can be revised.
IRTSA recommended that higher indexing of fitment factors should be followed for safety category posts. It advocated a fitment factor of 2.92 for level-1 posts. For posts in levels 6,7 and 8, the association said the fitment factor should be 3.5 and for levels 9 to 12, 3.8.
The association also put forward the demand for a structured five-grade promotional hierarchy for Junior Engineers (JEs), starting from Level-7.
It also called for the correction of pay anomalies that affect technical supervisors as well as better alignment of pay structures in departments for the equitable treatment of employees with comparable responsibilities.
Also Read: 8th Pay Commission: Big Pension Change Proposed For Senior Citizens; Check Age-Wise Benefits
According to IRTSA's memorandum, many railway engineers handling critical technical and supervisory functions face prolonged stagnation.
It highlighted how promotion to Group-B suffered from bottlenecks like less number of posts and unjustified comparisons with technical supervisors. IRTSA also asked for the inclusion of a training period for the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS) and the implementation of said scheme and its related court judgements.
The association also discussed allowances for technical supervisors such as night duty, overtime and Production Control Organisation (PCO) allowance with the 8th Pay Commission staff. It opposed the withdrawal of the PCO allowance, claiming that it helps improve productivity.
IRTSA asked for the extension of accident-free service award, risk and hardship allowance to open line engineers as well as staff.
Also Read: 8th Pay Commission: This Employee Body Submits Plea For 3.05 As Fitment Factor; Explains Rationale
Over the past few months, several associations have put forward their demands before the 8th Central Pay Commission.
As of now, no decision has been taken on IRTSA's demands. The commission will collect submissions from different stakeholders before presenting its recommendations to the Centre.
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