Employees from the government and public sector are often on strike on various issues. Sometimes issues for which strike is done are genuine but then that is rare as most of the times strikes are triggered due to act of omission or commission in some other department or in respect of some other class or grade of employees. Public sector employees are striking for release of their salaries, release of COL. Reasons of strikes are mostly enhancement in salaries, grant of higher pay-scales, regularization of their services etc.

Sometimes it is one segment of employees that is on strike and at other time it is some other segment. By and large system of pay-scales, promotions and replacement of one scale by another scale in Central Government is rational and State Governments should follow the same pattern horizontally and vertically rank-wise instead of creating anomalies and strike like situations.

Assistant Accounts officers and senior scale stenographers are in the higher pay-scale of Rs 7450-12000 from Rs 6500-10500 due to which first, Accounts employees resorted to strike and now it is clerical staff that is on strike as existing pay-scale of Rs 3050-4950/4000-6000/5000- 7000 for Jr. Assistant, Sr. Assistant and Head Assistant respectively was never a problem till Section officer who is next in their Administrative hierarchy as in the pay-scale of Rs 6500-10500.  AAO and his next in hierarchy i.e. A.O. are virtually in same pay-scale. Such type of situations creates anomalies and serves as disincentive for officers who were heretofore in the higher scale. Due to granting of higher scale to SOs, AAOs, KAS officers are demanding their placement in still higher pay-scale of Rs 8000-13500 because their immediate junior is in the scale of Rs 7450-12000/AAOs/SOs/Sr. Scale.

Government should see the allied ramifications while granting higher pay-scale to any class or grade of employees. For proper functioning of Government system there should be distinct pay-scales applicable for all classes of employees which is Class -I, II, III and IV. Minimum difference in two pay-scales should be at least of Rs 500/- for Class-IV employees, Rs 800/- for Class-Ill employees, Rs 1200/-for Class - II employees and Rs 2000/- for class-I employees. Pay scales should be so devised that every employee reaches minimum of next pay-scale after earning six increments.

Every time when new pay-scales are announced, many times it becomes a situation of chaos as situation like replacing old scales of employees with new once. Because many times number of scales are reduced and 2 to 3 scales are clubbed in one scale which becomes cause of grievance for officers who were heretofore in higher pay-scale. Changing pay-scale of one class or grade of employees results in consequential demand by other higher or lower in the hierarchy for change of their grades because it is always the comparative pay-scale due to which one feels distinguished or better in status.

These pay-scales should be benchmarks and should treated as pillars and steel frames in the hierarchical structure and should not be disturbed every now and then with strikes as people suffer whenever there is even one day work off.