Finance ministry halts change in staff benefits
The government has barred autonomous, semi-autonomous and other public sector corporations and statutory entities from issuing any order relating to the terms and conditions of service of their staff that could have financial implications. In an order, the finance ministry asked the ministries and divisions to ensure that their attached and subordinate organisations don’t issue any such orders. A senior government official explained that the fresh order was issued after various organisations started providing special executive and supervisory benefits to their senior officers on the pattern of special allowances at the rate of 150 per cent of salaries (ranging between Rs150,000 and Rs200,000 per month) to selected federal government officers in grades 17 to 22. These organisations and corporations started availing similar benefits on their own with the approval of their respective boards of directors, saying their boards were empowered to take such decisions. However, the finance ministry had to remind them that their board of directors were not so independent.