2014 – An Unforgettable Year for Central Government Employees..!
2014 was a year of expectations, disappointments, and trials and
tribulations for Central Government Employees and Pensioners too.
About Central Govt Employees at a glance 2014 – This article brings you some important events and announcements…
Strike: The year began with a collective decision of all
employees federations to go on a strike demanding, among other
things, 50% DA merger, and date of effect of the 7th CPC. When it became
clear that there was going to be a change of government at the Centre,
the federations began to plan their moves in order to somehow convince
the Congress Government to accept their demands. At last, the
Confederation alone held protests on February 10 and 11. Other
federations announced that they want to resolve the issue by holding
talks and withdrew their strike plans. But the Central Government
remained unmoved.
Retirement Age: A huge rumour started that in a desperate attempt
to secure votes, the party at the Centre would be more than willing to
raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Despite a number of questions
that were raised in the Parliament, and clarifications that were given
for it, the topic somehow never quite died away. At least once every
year, the issue makes headlines and vanishes.
7th Pay Scale: All the employees federations and associations,
including the National Council – JCM, presented separate memorandums to
the 7th Pay Commission listing their demands and expectations. Of
particular interest was the ‘Expected Pay Structure‘, which described
how the new pay package should be.
Income Tax: Since there were earlier news that the new income tax
limit would likely be raised to Rs. 5 lakhs, a lot was expected from
Arun Jaitley. But, he raised the income tax limit to Rs. 2.5 lakhs and
the 80C limits to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs.
6-day work week: A lot of buzz was created when news appeared
that 6-day work week was going to be soon implemented, particularly in
Delhi circle.
Aadhaar Based Biometric Attendance System: Biometric attendance
system, based on finger prints, were implemented in Central Government
offices all over the country. Aadhaar Card-based attendance system was
also introduced.
Air Travel on LTC: The popular air travel LTC facility was
extended by another two years in September. In addition to J&K and
NER, the facility now covers Andaman and Nicobar Islands too.
New announcements kept pouring in after Modi Government took charge.
Clean India: Orders were issued to clean up the country under the
‘Swachh Bharat’ mission. Since the movement was going to be launched on
October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the national
holiday was cancelled.
Declaration of Assets: Central Government employees were asked to submit information about their assets and debts to the government.
Digital Life Certificates: In November, the Central Government made arrangements to issue Aadhaar Card-based ‘Digital Life Certificates’ for pensioners.
Retirement Age 58: Fear and tension prevailed among Central
Government employees when announcements appeared that the Centre was
actually planning to reduce the retirement age. The Government then
denied such plans.
Source: www.7thpaycommissionnews.in
