Rs 311 crore: Onam bonus for Kerala govt workers

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as lakhs of persons are struggling to deal with the financial disaster induced by lengthy spells of lockdown and some of them resorting to suicide, the LDF regime within the state has determined to offer authorities workers extra and switch a blind eye to the rising demand for offering social safety allowance to those that had misplaced their jobs.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Okay N Balagopal introduced Onam bonus and pageant advance to five.2 lakh state authorities workers who have been granted a hefty pay hike solely 4 months in the past. The cash-strapped authorities has set aside Rs 311 crore for the aim.

In April, weeks earlier than the meeting elections, the federal government had allotted Rs 4,850 crore for implementing pay revision. It could also be recalled that the state has witnessed 28 suicides owing to job loss and debt burden within the final seven weeks and there was no phrase so removed from the federal government on any help to struggling personal sector workers and merchants.

Of the 5.2 lakh authorities workers, round one lakh will get Rs 4,000 every as Onam bonus whereas the remaining will get Rs 2,750 every as pageant allowance. In addition, 5.3 lakh service pensioners will get Rs 1,000 every. All workers are additionally eligible to avail a pageant advance of Rs 15,000, which must be repaid in 5 month-to-month instalments.

Kerala’s whole workforce is 1.27 crore as per the estimate of the state planning board. During the primary lockdown, 73 lakh of them have been rendered jobless, in line with a research by the board. That means Rs 260 crore of the tax payers’ cash is being spent for the welfare of 4% of workforce who haven’t misplaced a single day’s wage owing to lockdown.

“This is atrocious. The government’s indifference to what is happening around is writ large on this decision. How graceful a gesture it would have been had the government used this money to pay Rs 500 each at least to those who have lost jobs?” requested Jose Sebastian, economist and former director of Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation. 

FM urges employees to donate generously to reduction fund

“In fact, this magnanimity is a gesture of appreciation for the organised class of government employees who had stood with the government loyally,” he mentioned.Though the Opposition didn’t protest towards the choice, Balagopal urged the workers to generously contribute to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). When the federal government had appealed for donation to CMDRF in the course of the 2018 floods, a bit of workers had questioned it. Only 17% of aided faculty lecturers — one of many extremely paid workers — joined the 2018 contribution drive. As within the earlier years, workers on contract foundation and people working in varied authorities schemes will even be eligible for the pageant allowance, mentioned Balagopal. 

About Rs 150 crore might be spent for these individuals, most of them falling within the low-income class. They will even be eligible for a pageant advance of Rs 5,000. As per the revised price range estimates for 2020-21, the state had spent 30% of its income receipts for wage fee and 21% for pension funds. As on January 1, 2021, the variety of state authorities workers was 5,22,223 who draw salaries within the vary of Rs 23,000 to Rs 1.66 lakh.

5.2 lakh is the entire power of presidency workers in Kerala