" Another OM dated 18th October, 1999 was issued by the DPPW modifying the earlier OM dated 27th October, 1997. This stated that the average emoluments for those retiring within ten months of coming over to the revised pay scales would be calculated thus:
"The average emoluments based on the basic pay of the preceding ten months of those Government Servants who had opted to come over to the revised scales of pay and had retired within a period of 10 months reckoned from January 1, 1996 shall be calculated as follows for the purpose of determining their pension entitlement.
(A) For the period during which pay was drawn in the pre- revised pay scales.
The total emoluments for the number of months for which pay was drawn in the pre-revised pay scales shall be calculated after taking into account the following:
i. Basic Pay (including increments if any drawn during the intervening period).
ii. Dearness allowance upto CPI 1510 i.e. @ 148%, III% and 96% of the basic pay as the case may be.
iii. The first and second installments of Interim Relief appropriate to the Basic pay drawn during the relevant period.
iv. Notional increase of the Basic Pay by applying the Fitment Benefit of 40 percent on the Basic pay in the pre-revised pay scale.
(B) For the period during which pay was drawn in the revised pay scales:
The aggregate of the Basic pay for the number of months for which pay was drawn in the revised pay scales.
The average emoluments of the preceding ten months will thereafter be calculated by adding (A) and (B) and dividing the result by 10. Pension admissible will consequently be 50% of the average emoluments so calculated".
This circular has a parallel to the Notification dated 14/5/1999 in respect of LIC Pensioners which resulted in amendment to the proviso to Rule 2(o) of LIC Pension Rules 1995 indicating how the pension should be fixed for employees whose last ten months of service fall both in the pre-revised scales period and revised scales period.It significantly emerges that when the same principle is applied for for both the Central Government employees and LIC employees,the weightage of 40% by way of notional increase to the total of basic pay and the merged DA for the pre-revision period applied to Central Government employees is omitted for LIC employees who got the benefit of revised scales from the date of wage revision before their retirement.This omission of weightage is what is depressing the basic pension of this category of employees that in many cases the basic pension of employees retired after the wage revision is fixed at less than 50% of the minimum of the revised scale of pay on wage revision.This is a definite anomaly.The issue of this category of retirees is not one of upgradation of pension,but an issue where they get their basic pension under-fixed on account of adopting a faulty basis.
This needs to be taken up by the various employees' Associations and Pensioners' Associations for amending our Pension Rules so that a small group of employees retiring before ten months of wage revision are not at a disadvantage on account of following a faulty formula.
I believe this is a subject matter of a case filed at Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad.
C H Mahaevan
No comments:
Post a Comment