Kerala police propose alternative to govt’s salary cut plan for COVID-19 funds
After the Kerala government issued an order to cut six days of salary every month for the next five months for government employees, police associations in the state have suggest alternatives to ensure that the burden of the salary cut doesn't weigh too heavily on its officers.
On Friday, the Kerala government issued the order on salary cuts in order to generate funds to battle the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala.
The amount collected through salary cuts will go to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF), the order states. The order also made it clear that the salaries of those who earned Rs 20,000 or below would not be deducted. Additionally, those government staff who had already contributed their one month salary to the CMDRF will be excluded from the salary cut.
A day after the order was issued, the Kerala Police Officers Association (KPOA) requested the government to offer alternatives to officers.
“Instead of cutting six days of salary for the next five months, the officers - whoever is interested - should have the option of paying the whole month’s salary at one go,” KPOA Secretary CR Biju told TNM.
Following a discussion on the salary cut proposal, Biju wrote a letter to Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, requesting him to allow alternatives.
“Cutting six days of salary every month is going to be a financial drain on officers who also have to pay housing loans and other loans. This will lead to housing loan defaults. Instead, the government should allow officers to pay 30 days of salary at once, by deducting it at one go,” he added.
Biju stated that deducting an entire month’s salary instead of stretching it over five months would be helpful for some officers, as there is a three month moratorium imposed on loans following the pandemic and the resultant lockdown.
The salary cut order is applicable to employees of all state owned enterprises, PSUs, universities and quasi-government organisations. The order states that Kerala is going through a fiscal crisis as the tax revenue has dropped.
It also states that all ministers, MLAs, members of local body departments, boards and various commissions will have 30 percent of their salaries deducted for the whole year.
According to Biju, the entire process of salary payments and deferments is automated and hence, allowing alternatives could be difficult for the state .
hief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had previously said that the state will consider returning this amount to the employees once the financial situation of Kerala improved. The order, however, made no mention of this statement by the Chief Minister.
Read: Kerala HC stays state govt’s order deferring portion of salary of govt employees