The hole in your pocket just got bigger with the announcement of the 7th Pay Commission. Since it has the go ahead signal at the center, it’s just a matter of time it gets implemented in the state of Goa. A hit of Rs 750 crore per annum is the estimated figure we Goans will have to shell out extra to pay government employees. Already grappling with so many guilt clearing social security schemes, the government will now have to burn the midnight oil to figure out a way to increase its revenue so as to take care of this expense. Actually it hardly has to bother about revenue like how a business entity would normally do; it only has to tear our pockets a little wider and every Goan, like it or not, will have no option but pay.
Don’t get the wrong picture, government employees are very important to run the state and the country, the problem lies in the decision to give everyone without any exceptions, an approximate 24% raise or whatever, as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission, performance be dammed. A slap on the face to those worthy, smart and honest government servants that deserve their salary be doubled or raised by even 50%. Unfortunately they all have to settle for less because some of their deserving pay is shared with their unproductive lazy colleagues. On top of this the person heading the department is made accountable for performance, but has no power to sack an unproductive employee.
Goa has too many parasites preying on an already financially bankrupt system that it is now in danger of a total breakdown. If some corrective action is not taken to overhaul the system there will be nothing left to pay to even the genuine government employees. Since implementing the 7th Pay Commission recommendations are imminent, the state government should hit the drawing boards in not only identifying and getting rid of underperforming staff, but also identify posts that have become obsolete due to introduction to technology. For example the government will be better off, if a clerk in-charge of the manual employee attendance register post is automatically cancelled with the introduction of a biometric system. You cannot have parallel systems running, just because your system does not allow you to sack employees that that have been overtaken by technology, especially when you are almost financially broke and the tax payers in this case the revenue masters, already in a financially difficult position themselves.
Nobody is blaming the present government for the mess, since it is the legacy of previous governments that chose never to apply their mind in tackling this time bomb situation. Nobody wants to take this problem head on, as governments are happy to take the easy way out of status quo and wait to pass on the problem to the next government that comes in.
Let’s face the fact, most government posts over the years have been created in order to have more controls and since Modi’s government takes pride at the center that it is dismantling controls, it should logically mean government jobs that are getting obsolete at a faster pace are identified and extinguished. The more you get rid of this excess, the more you will be able to pay the deserving government servants, maybe much more than the prescribed 7th Pay recommendations to some deserving candidates.
Of course there should be no sympathy in showing the door to unproductive employees, but hard working employees from posts that have become redundant can be transferred to different departments especially in government new focus area. The Swachh Bharat campaign should attract a lot of government employees being transferred to that focus area.
Big mistake would be to employ new staff and then scratch our heads to figure out how to pay their salaries. In the larger scheme of things it is time for government not to attempt solving the employment problem of the state, instead leave it to the private sector, and for that to happen make the atmosphere conducive for private businesses to thrive. Government must trust private businesses to mind their own business, only then will they be able to generate genuine employment with an eye on their bottom line.
Above solutions are for government to take note, meantime, here is what every Goan can do. Next time at a Government office try not to accept any excuses given by government officials for not doing your work in a time bound manner. For those hard working government officials who work their heart out, try and make a list of your colleagues whose fat pay check do not commensurate the work they do and try to stay away from them because it insulate you from laziness and keep a clear conscience while taking your pay.
Lot has been said of the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan leaving or made to go by the government. Governments do get miffed when heads of these institutions do not toe their line and in this case the monetary policy of the governor was not of the liking of the government. Apparently one of RBI’s fears was that the 7th Pay Commission recommendation once implemented would spike up inflation. It is this future perception of inflation that prevented Rajan from lowering interest rates as much as the government would have liked. So if he happens to be right, it means Goans already grappling with the 7th Pay hit of Rs 750 crore per annum will face another indirect hit in the form of high inflation. After all high inflation means Goans paying more for goods and services, thereby reducing their quality of life. In simple words it means get prepared for a double whammy to make another hole in the other pocket too.
(Plastino D’Costa is a business consultant)
