Govt may approve pay hike for CPSE officers today

The government is believed to have received clearance from the Election Commission for giving a salary hike to public sector officers, improving upon the emoluments recommended by the pay revision committee last year.

Tomorrow, the Cabinet may consider merging the dearness allowance (DA) of about 400,000 officers of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) with the basic salary under a formula that will hike their pay by about 9 per cent, sources said.

The weight of DA recommended by the pay revision committee and notified by the government in November 2008, was opposed by the officers, particularly among the oil sector PSUs, who struck work in January.

The Group of Ministers, headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram, revisited the issue recommending improvement upon the package offered by the committee.

Sources said while the proposal involve financial implications, the poll panel has given a go-ahead advising the government not to publicise the issue.

The Justice Jagannada Rao committee had recommended basic monthly pay ranging Rs 65,000-Rs 75,000 for below the board level executives.