A delegation of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) employees today met Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh and demanded parity in pay/salary, promotion and perks with IAS and other services. R.K. Ojha, the representatives of the Central Secretariat Service Forum led the delegation and said that Central Secretariat Service Group ‘A’ has a cadre strength of over 2200 officers starting from Under Secretary level up to the Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary.
Prior to the 6th CPC, the only facility which was permitted to other organised Group ‘A’ services was provision of Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) or Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG). However, the 4th, 5th and 6th Pay Commission Reports have never said that the benefits which are given to organised Group ‘A’ service will not be available to Central Secretariat Service. Therefore, in the interest of harmonious relationship between different officers of same rank and different services, it is important to have a proper harmony and parity as far as environment and conditions of work are concerned. In a memorandum to the Minister, the CSS forum pointed out a number of anomalies and said that in certain cases, a Deputy Secretary of CSS who has put in more than 15 years of service neither gets the same pay scale nor promotion as Joint Secretary nor the Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU).
Dr. Jitendra Singh gave a patient hearing and said, the Central Secretariat Service is one of the earliest organised services in the country and an important constituent of the Central Government machinery. While important structural changes have been made several times since the inception of the service, one common thread running through all the stages of the evolution of the service has been the role of the service in ensuring continuity of administration in the Central Secretariat. He said that it is responsibility of the government to create a congenial working environment for them. Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has, in the last ten months, taken several steps for improving the service conditions of its employees and the same approach will also be followed in case of CSS employees who provide strength to the set- up at middle management level of the government. The demands and proposal put forth by them will be processed sympathetically and sought to be addressed to the maximum extent, he assured.