Economic Highlight
New
Delhi, 30 November 2015
7th Pay
Panel Hike
FEW ENJOY, BULK
SUFFERS
By Shivaji Sarkar
The Government continues to be the best employer. The Seventh
Pay Commission increase of salaries by 23.5 per cent testifies this. It
benefits approximately two crore people, less than two per cent of the
population, working with the Central and State governments or pensioners. Each
such revision has resulted in more inflation for the rest of the 98 per cent
population. They do not have a built in system for income rise to counter
inflation but as Government staff salaries increase they are forced to bear the
brunt.
The pay hikes burden the Government by Rs 1.02 lakh crore
additional expenses and increases fiscal deficit by 0.65 per cent. In short, the
Government would be left with less money for its developmental and welfare
programmes.
A moot question is why should there be a whopping decadal pay
revision for such a minuscule number. The simple reason is wages have to match the
rising prices so that the basic needs of a worker and his family -- food, education,
medical care, recreation, as per the norms laid down by 15th Indian
Labour Conference in 1957 -- could be met. An added reason is said to be higher
wages spurs growth, though this is often debated.
The workers in both public and private sectors were right in
having norms set for wage-price linkages. This was the only security they have.
But should a government or country accept that as the basic norm? It shouldn’t.
However, India
has always seen spiraling inflation except for 1996-2004, a typically
non-Congress regime. It was the era of coalition, the United Front,
conglomerate of Left and regional parties; and National Democratic Alliance
headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Post 2004 the era of severe price rise returned again. In
2010, the Sixth pay commission compensated it with 54 per cent salary hikes. It
almost led the Government to bankruptcy and triggered an era of levying cess of
several types – education, road, flight, coal and many more. Each new tax and
cess, such as the Supreme Court-ordered green tax undeniably further adds to
inflationary pressure.
This clearly means that the Indian economic system depends heavily
on the factor of inflation. Rather it simply accepts inflation as a part of the
system – something strange and irrational. It also shows that there is no
social control on prices of goods. These are being decided and raised, the
system says revised, continuously without an iota of rationale. This has led
some monopolists to earn staggering profits of 80 to 142 per cent a year.
Sadly, this shows that neither the Government nor the
society, except for the consumers, has any concern for the ever rising prices. Instead,
the system is probably being dictated by those who are thriving on it as the
system collapses under inflationary pressure.
The argument that more cash in hand is likely to result in
higher consumption and spending on assets is only partially correct. Food
inflation has already eaten up major part of the gains. Those who expect it to
boost some industrial production are perhaps not aware that despite the Sixth
pay panel recommendations resulting in huge arrear payments, the growth only
moderated. This time round it is unlikely to give very large payment of back wages
as the recommendations are prospective of January 2016.
The net result may be a huge burden on the Government. The
tax accrual too is likely to be less than 2010 as the income tax rates would either
be lowered or the minimum taxable limit would be hiked. So a sales pick-up is
unlikely because employees would like to save a large part of their benefits to
the increased cost of primary and higher education of their children apart from
food. It may also dampen the prospects of the expectations of swelling the
indirect tax kitty.
The premise that inflation could boost wages and
subsequently spur the economy is based apparently on facile logic. On the
contrary, the society suffers on many counts. The wages in public sector
organizations in India
rise to match the government wages.
The private sector largely finds it unbearable. Increase of
wage bills of companies are often not compensated by their incomes,
particularly in subdued markets. It takes to the subterfuge of raising wages of
a few employees and matching the “loss” by sacking many others. Indirectly high
wages lead to higher unemployment. Therefore, the pay in the private sector is contributing towards massive
inequalities in society.
This can be well understood by an instance from the US. Signs of a
nascent pickup in its workers pay proved fleeting as wages and salaries climbed
in the second quarter at the slowest pace on record, says Bloomberg in a recent report. Wage Growth in the US averaged
6.33 per cent from 1960 until 2015, says the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the 12 months ending June, the US wages and
salaries were up 2.1 per cent compared with a 2.6 per cent year-over-year gain
in the first quarter.
This is one of the lowest in the world. So is
its inflation. The US
inflation peaked over 2 per cent after Lehman Brothers induced the 2008
economic collapse. It has now plateaued to 0.2 per cent, which has led to an increased
job growth, according to the US Labour department.
Therefore, it would be worthwhile that this
becomes the lesson for India.
At the same time, there is now a suggestion that there should be a permanent
pay commission. But again this is a flawed logic drawn from the premise that
the country cannot get rid of its inflationary cycles.
History of course shows the above to be true.
But with a Government having a new vision this needs to be belied. A country
like the US
has become a super power on the strength of its low inflation. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has established the country’s international recognition. His
efforts have brought large FDI into the country during a short span – $34.9
billion in 2014-15 and if Financial Times
of London
is to be believed $31 billion in the first half of 2015-16.
The above is an indication that the country has
strength. If inflation is checked and so are wages it can become the most
desired investment destination for the world. The present hikes are not be
grudged. But the nation needs to learn the long-term cost of such a policy and
reframe it to give its future generation a perennial solution to many of the
woes that inflation entails, including poverty. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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