Bengal brings university, education board staff under 7th Pay Commission

The West Bengal government has brought non-teaching employees of state-aided universities and regular employees of three education boards under the ambit of the 7th Pay Commission, enabling a review of their existing pay structures and service conditions.

The decision was announced through a resolution issued by the state finance department on November 5, a copy of which was made available to the media on Friday.

According to the notification, the commission will examine the pay structures and service conditions of non-teaching employees of all state-aided universities, along with regular employees of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education and West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education.

The commission has been directed to submit its recommendations at the earliest.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱

A senior state government official said the decision would enable the commission to examine the existing salary structures and service conditions of employees covered by the latest resolution before recommending any changes.

"The commission will look into the existing arrangements and submit its recommendations in line with the terms of reference laid down by the state government," the official said.

The 7th Pay Commission was constituted earlier to examine the pay structures and service conditions of state government employees and certain other categories of personnel.

Its terms of reference were established through two separate government resolutions issued on July 22 and July 29.

The latest resolution, issued from the state secretariat, Nabanna, extends the commission's jurisdiction to additional educational institutions and statutory education bodies.

𝟮𝟱 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱

The notification identifies 25 state-aided universities whose non-teaching employees will be covered by the pay review.

Prominent institutions on the list include Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, Burdwan University, Kalyani University, North Bengal University, Rabindra Bharati University, Vidyasagar University and Gour Banga University.

Other institutions include Presidency University, Netaji Subhas Open University, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal State University, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University and Kazi Nazrul University.

Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, Diamond Harbour Women's University, Bankura University, Raiganj University, Sanskrit College and University, and Aliah University are also among the institutions covered.

The inclusion of these universities means their non-teaching employees will now have their existing pay arrangements and service conditions examined under the commission's expanded mandate.

𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀

Although the resolution expands the scope of the pay commission, it does not announce any immediate increase in salaries or allowances.

The notification also does not specify the proposed revised pay structure, the date from which any changes would take effect or whether employees would receive arrears.

Officials said these matters would be considered after the commission completes its examination and submits its recommendations to the state government.

The latest decision, therefore, represents an expansion of the commission's review process rather than an immediate revision of employee salaries.

Any changes to pay scales or service conditions will depend on the commission's recommendations and subsequent decisions taken by the state government.