The Sixth Pay Commission has recommended a substantial increase in salaries of over 45 lakh central government employees, a move that would cost the exchequer Rs 12,561 crore in 2008-09. The recommendations also entail an additional expenditure of about Rs 18,000 crore on arrears since January 1, 2006. It is almost certain that the salaries of nearly 70 lakh state government employees will also be increased soon.

Should government employees be paid more? Most certainly. In these times of all-round price escalation, it is natural for every category of salaried people to want to see a hike in their incomes. Besides, unlike in the past, government employees now have greater concern for the educational needs of their children, and the cost of quality education has indeed gone up astronomically. Also, the issue of post-retirement economic security is felt far more acutely by them than before. Another compelling reason for a pay hike, especially for government officers at higher levels, is the widening gulf between their own salaries and perks, and those enjoyed by their counterparts in the private sector. Many bright and promising officers in the prime of their careers are being lured away by Indian and foreign companies, with offers of immediate tripling or quadrupling of salaries. The worst hit are our Armed Forces, defence-related R&D organisations, CSIR laboratories, teaching positions in premier government-run educational institutions such as IITs, and the judiciary, which are no longer able to attract, or retain, the best and the brightest. No nation can progress on a steady basis if those who are at the leadership and other crucial positions in the institutions of the State are not well looked after.

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