Pay cuts for PM-CARES leave staff uneasy

20/04/2020, PRISCILLA JEBARAJ, VIJAITA SINGH,NEW DELHI

A number of central ministries have given the nod for salary deductions of staff towards the PM-CARES Fund. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh “approved a proposal” for the contribution of a day’s salary to the fund from all Ministry employees, including Army, Navy, Air Force and Defence Public Sector Units, according to an official statement issued days after the fund was launched.

The Ministry estimated a collective donation of ₹500 crore, but added that “the employees’ contribution is voluntary and those desirous of opting out will be exempted”.

‘Tough on families’

Responding to a circular issued on Friday by the Revenue Department of the Finance Minister that a day’s salary will be deducted from all staff every month till March 2021, one joint secretary level official, who did not want to be named, said, “No one actually asks. And one day per month for a year is 12 days. That is 40% of a monthly salary... An average employee of the Government of India gets between ₹50,000 and ₹80,000 per month. That’s one salary and maybe three dependents. So it’s tough on them,” the official said.

Earlier in the month, resident doctors from four government hospitals in the capital objected to the automatic deduction from their salary of the donation, demanding that it be made an opt-in system, so that only those who wished could choose to donate. Last week, both AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals agreed to the demand.

(With inputs from

Manojit Saha)