Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (2016=100) - October, 2023

 The All-India CPI-IW for October,2023 increased by 0.9 points and stood at 138.4 (one hundred thirty eight point four). On l-month percentage change, it increased by 0.65 per cent with respect to previous month compared to increase of 0.91 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago.

West Bengal CM terms DA as an "option"

 

"DA is not mandatory, it's just an option," she said, adding that her government has given the DA as per the pay commission's fresh directive, and for that purpose, it has spent over Rs 2 lakh and 52 thousand crore in the last two years.

In the backdrop of the constant demand of state government employees to raise the Dearness Allowance (DA) and bring it at par with their central counterparts, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 29 said that DA is not mandatory, but an option.

Speaking at the Assembly, Banerjee in an apparent reference to agitating employees of the state government reminded them about the extra annual leaves as well as her government allowing them to go abroad. "DA is not mandatory, it's just an option," she said, adding that her government has given the DA as per the pay commission's fresh directive, and for that purpose, it has spent over Rs 2 lakh and 52 thousand crore in the last two years.

"Central government employees work under the central structure while the state government employees are under the state structure. If anyone wants, they can join the central government service. The Centre gives fewer holidays but our government gives holidays for all occasions," she said. "They get only 3 to 4 extra days off in a year, but here we have 40 days. You have to add value for that. This government is the only one who has given them the opportunity to go abroad," she said.

State government employees have been demonstrating for several months demanding to raise their DA and bring it to par with the central government employees. They are alleging that the one provided by the state has a much lower rate than that of the central government employees.

Source Moneycontrol/PTI

Salary hike, 5-day work week for PSB employees by mid-December

 Employees at public sector banks (PSBs) may see a 15-20 per cent hike in salaries and implementation of a five-day work week by mid-December as the 12th bipartite settlement talks between bank unions and associations and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) have entered final stages, reported the Financial Express (FE) citing sources.

"This is the first time in the history of negotiations that the offer [for wage hike] is starting with 15 per cent. It [wage hike] will likely be between 15 per cent and 20 per cent," IBA sources told FE. 

The announcement of the five-day work week will be made either concurrently with or immediately following the pay raise declaration by the Centra or the IBA, they said.

The current wage agreement for PSB employees expired on November 1, 2022. Since then, the IBA and the unions representing bank employees have been negotiating a new wage agreement.

A source in the finance ministry told FE that the wage revision and change in work days would also apply to regional rural banks.

In July 2020, around 850,000 bank employees got a 15 per cent increase in their salary packages, with the IBA and the United Forum of Bank Unions signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to settle the three-year-long contentious issue of wage revision.

Another source said that the IBA and the bank unions will shortly hold a final meeting where the two parties will sign a MoU, which will then be handed to the finance ministry for final approval.

The implementation of the five-day workweek will lead to branches remaining closed on weekends. Employees may be asked to work for extra hours during the week to compensate for lost working hours, a source was quoted as saying by FE.

"Business hours will start early on weekdays and close 30-45 minutes late than the current working hours," sources said. Customers who want to withdraw or transfer cash can do so through automated teller machines, with the only challenge being deposit of cheques," he said, adding, "Collection of cheques will be affected for these two days.".

While employees at insurance firms, state governments and central government have a five-day work week, providing the same option to bankers is a move in the right direction, sources said.

Source : Business Standard.

Bihar increases D.A. - at par with Central Govt.

 The Bihar government on Wednesday approved a 4 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) for state employees and dearness relief (DR) for pensioners. Chief minister Nitish Kumar made this decision during a cabinet meeting.

As per news agency PTI, employees in the state, under the 7th Pay Commission, currently receive a 42 per cent DA, that has been increased to 46 per cent.

The DA hike is effective from July 1, 2023, enabling employees to receive arrears for the period between July and October. Around 4.5 lakh Bihar state government employees will benefit from this decision, alongside about six lakh pensioners.

The increased DA will reflect in the December salaries, as per Live Hindustan, and employees will also receive arrears for the four-month period.

According to a Live Mint report, several states and union territories, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, have raised DA and DR during the festive season of Dussehra and Diwali.

Whether D.A for Central employees will reach 50% on 1st January 2024 ?

After the release of another installment of D.A. from 1st July 2023, speculation and calculation started for the possible increase from 1st January next year. This time it is of immense importance as if D.A. touches 50% mark, HRA of Govt. employees will increase by another 3% in addition.

The All-India CPI-IW for September 2023 decreased by 1.7 points and stood at 137.5 (one hundred thirty-seven point five), as per the press release by the Labour Bureau on 31st October 2023. Expected DA/DR from January 2024 is accounted for in the 3rd step with this release. This decline in the CPI-IW Index still results in a 4% increase in DA/DR from January 2024 for Central Government Employees and Pensioners, reaching 50% in the 7th CPC DA/DR. The CPI-IW index in the coming months will confirm the exact figure of DA/DR for January 2024.

As per the statistics available, even if the index stands at the current level of 138.5, possible increase of D.A. will be 50.36% which will result a 4% hike.

For final calculation we will have to wait for release of CPI-IW number of October, November and December 2023.

Bank Bipartite : IBA increases offer

 As per update received from UFBU (unconfirmed), "Today (09/11/2023) there was daylong negotiations with IBA. IBA improved their offer to 16%  but this could not be agreed by us we requested IBA to improve their offer.We also discussed about implementation of 5 day banking and improvement in pension for past retirees. We have signed the minutes on option to resignees to join pension scheme. Circular follows"

Assam, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Tamilnadu increases Dearness Allowance

 Wave of happiness among 5 lakh employees of Assam

Like the Centre, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government of Assam also increased the dearness allowance by 4 percent. There are about 5 lakh government employees in Assam. Along with them, retired employees will also benefit. The total DA in Assam has now reached 46 percent. The Chief Minister posted on X (formerly Twitter) that as a Diwali gift, the Cabinet has approved 4 percent Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees.

After Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh sought approval from the Election Commission

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that state employees will be given dearness allowance equal to that of the Centre. Chhattisgarh government has sought permission from the Election Commission to give dearness allowance. Earlier, the Rajasthan government had prepared a proposal during the assembly elections and sent it to the Election Commission. After getting the permission, DA of employees and pensioners of Rajasthan was increased. The dearness allowance of employees was increased twice this year by the Chhattisgarh government.

Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu also gave gifts

Tamil Nadu government and Chandigarh administration have also announced to give the benefit of 4 percent DA increase to their employees. According to the Tamil Nadu government, this increase will be implemented from July 1 and will benefit 16 lakh employees. This will put a burden of more than Rs 2500 crore on the government exchequer.

Delhi announces bonus for employees

 The government will incur an expenditure of ₹58 crore for granting the bonus

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced a ₹7,000 bonus for Group B non-gazetted and Group C employees of the Delhi government for Deepavali and said it will benefit about 80,000 employees.

This will double the joy in our employees’ homes during the festive season. As a government, we have always made efforts to improve the lives of our employees and this effort will continue in the future as well,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

The government will incur an expenditure of ₹58 crore for granting the bonus.

Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded that the Delhi government also pay an increased 4% Dearness Allowance (DA) to its employees. He said the Chief Minister should announce and give an increased DA before the festival.

Uttar Pradesh announces 4% D.A., Bonus

 Lucknow, Nov 6 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday announced dearness allowance (DA) at the rate of 46 per cent of the basic salary to employees and 30 days' emoluments with a maximum limit of Rs 7,000 to all non-gazetted employees.

"Dearness allowance at the rate of 46 per cent of the basic salary will be provided to all the state employees, aided educational and technical educational institutions, urban bodies, UGC employees, work-charged employees and pensioners who are contributing to the progress of Uttar Pradesh," Adityanth said in a post on X.

"Similarly, it has been decided to provide bonus equal to 30 days' emoluments (maximum limit Rs 7,000) to all state employees (non-gazetted)/work-charged employees, teachers, non-teaching staff and daily wage workers," he added in the post.

Jharkhand announces D.A. at par with Central Govt. employees

 In a pre-Diwali gesture, the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand has bestowed a substantial gift upon its employees and pensioners. The government has increased the dearness allowance (DA) by 4 percent for state employees, effectively bringing it in line with the DA received by central government employees. This decision was made during a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and the increased DA will be retroactive to July 1, 2023. State government employees will now enjoy a 46 percent dearness allowance, ensuring their compensation aligns with that of their central government counterparts.

The Cabinet meeting also approved 23 other proposals, including the ‘Mukhyamantri Ujjwal Jharkhand Yojana,’ a new scheme aimed at providing electricity to homes in rural and urban areas where it is not currently available. An allocation of Rs 1,485 crore has been earmarked for this initiative.

AICPIN : September 2023

 The All-India CPI-IW for September, 2023 decreased by 1.7 points and stood at 137.5 (one hundred thirty seven point five). On 1-month percentage change, it decreased by 1.22 per cent with respect to previous month compared to increase of 0.84 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago.

Rajasthan increases D.A. for employees, pensioners

 After the Central Government increased the dearness allowance of 49 lakh employees recently, the Rajasthan government has given great news to the employees. The Ashok Gehlot government of the state has increased DA by 4 percent. After this, the existing DA of 42 percent has increased to 46 percent. The special thing is that the Election Commission has also approved the proposal of 4% increase in dearness allowance sent by the government for the government employees of Rajasthan.

More than 8 lakh employees of the state as well as 4 lakh pensioners will benefit from the decision taken by the government. If the basic salary of an employee is Rs 10000 and he is getting dearness allowance of Rs 4200, then now it will increase to Rs 4600. Actually, voting for the assembly elections is to be held in Rajasthan on 25th November. In such a situation, if the government had announced DA without approval from the Election Commission, it would have been a violation of the rules.

In the information given by the state government, it was said that the benefit of increased DA will be given to the employees from July 1. Employees can get the benefit of increased DA in their October salary. Apart from this, it is also expected that the government will also pay the three months’ arrears along with this. Earlier, an announcement was made by the Central and Yogi governments of UP to increase the DA of the employees. Yogi government has also increased DA from 42 percent to 46 percent. More than 65 lakh pensioners will also get the benefit of DA increased by the Centre.