“Arunachal Pradesh will be the first State in the North East and one of the very few in the country to implement the pay package as prescribed by the Sixth Pay Commission,” State’s Home Minister Jarbom Gamlin told the media here recently.
“The agitating employees under the banner of Confederation of Service Associations of Arunachal Pradesh (CoSAAP) called off their proposed agitation in the form of mass casual leave after the State Government agreed to implement the Pay Commission recommendations from January 1, 2009 with notional fixation of pay from January 1, 2006,” the Home Minister said.
The representatives of CoSSAP today had a meeting with Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu during which the latter assured them to concede the demand of implementation of the Pay panel’s recommendations. The government also agreed to release the employees’ arrears of six months, starting from July 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 in two installments during the financial years – 2010 to 2011 and 2011 to 2012. The demand of arrears for remaining period since January 1, 2006 to June 31, 2008 was not agreed to,” Gamlin said.
Regarding the State Government employees’ demand of fixation of retirement age from 58 years to 60 years, the Home Minister said the matter will be placed before the Cabinet for its consideration.
CoSAAP, a conglomeration of 53 State Government employees’ associations, including labour unions, had earlier threatened to launch phase-wise agitation if the State Government failed to implement the pay structures prescribed by the Pay Commission.
CoSAAP also threatened to burn the copies of Central Civil Services Rules,1979, presently enforced in the State terming it as an ‘archaic’ rule not in commensurate with the present day needs. The State has 51,359 regular employees and 33,000 casual employees.