Date:18/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/18/stories/2008081855271002.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Pay hike

The impact of the huge pay hike for Central government employees, followed by a similar salary hike for government employees of some States, can cause immense misery to the common man. To support and protect the interests of a few, the majority whose incomes are stationary, have to bear the brunt of the rise in the prices of essential commodities and services. Inflation, already high at 12.4 per cent, will increase further, thanks to the increase in the purchasing power of a few. The plight of the common man, reeling under the impact of the steep increase in rents and prices of essential commodities, will worsen.

H.K. Lakshman Rao,

Chennai

* * *

During the debate on the demands by various sections to raise their salaries, nowhere was accountability emphasised. The productivity of government servants has been steadily declining but no serious thought given to the issue. Government employees are aware that they are paid less than their counterparts in the private sector but their comparison stops here. Ask a man on the street whether the hike in their salaries is well deserved and his answer will be ‘no.’ He knows that there is going to be no improvement in productivity or on the corruption front.

Manish Manglani,

New Delhi