The pain that a decision of the Central Government had hit the pockets of lakhs of employees and pensioners during the Covid-19 pandemic is now coming out in the form of figures. There may not have been much noise about this at that time, but now a detailed calculation has surprised everyone. The government had frozen Dearness Allowance (DA) for 18 months during the pandemic, which simply meant that inflation continued to rise, but the income of the employees remained frozen.

According to the latest data, this decision has resulted in the lowest level i.e. Group C, Level 1 Even an ordinary employee of Rs 25,224 Direct financial loss has occurred. The thing to note is that this figure is of only one employee, if the huge loss of pensioners and top officials is added to it, then this amount reaches billions.

How did DA money stop in three phases?

Data shared by employee organizations suggests that the DA freeze period can be seen in three distinct phases:

• Status as of January 2020: At that time the basic salary of a Level 1 employee was Rs 18,000. DA was 4% of basic pay i.e. Rs 720. Along with this, there was a separate DA of Rs 27 on transport allowance. This arrangement continued for six months.
• Revision of July 2020: According to law, DA should have increased on the basis of Consumer Price Index in July, but the government froze it. The employee had to be content with the old rate for the next six months.
• January 2021 hits: Due to the annual increment, the basic salary of the employee increased to Rs 18,500, but the DA still remained stuck at the 2020 level.

‘Hole’ of more than Rs 25,000

The difference made during the entire 18 months was never recovered by the employees. The calculation shows that only the total amount withheld as DA Rs 24,090 doing. If we also add to this the loss of DA received on transport allowance (Rs 1,134), then the total loss will be Rs 25,224 Sits. DA was reinstated from July 2021, but the arrears for the frozen period were never paid. In simple words, the money that is stopped is lost forever.

Why did the government take this step?

During the pandemic, the government argued that there was a huge decline in revenue. The burden of expenditure on health services and relief packages had increased. In such a situation, to handle the financial pressure, the government considered it necessary to cut the allowances of the employees. However, for about 48 lakh central employees, this was not a voluntary contribution but a mandatory cut.

Issue raised before 8th Pay Commission

currently 8th pay commission (8th Pay Commission) is going through consultation. Employees organizations and pensioners associations are vocal about their demands. Amidst the discussion on salary structure and new allowances, the issue of this outstanding DA of the Covid period has heated up again. Employee organizations believe that compensation for this loss should also be considered in the recommendations of the new Pay Commission.