Karnataka: Siddaramaiah govt likely to announce 24-30 percent pay hike for state employees in February budget

Siddaramaiah-led Congress administration in Karnataka is likely to announce a 24-30 percent pay hike for its 6.2 lakh government employees and pensioners in the state budget, to be presented in February, said media reports. According to The Times of India report, the government is also planning to introduce holidays on alternate Saturdays in government offices. [caption id=“attachment_4301203” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. Getty images[/caption] Elections in Karnataka are likely to be held between last week of April and first week of May and the pay hike is seen as a pre-poll bonanza. The state government employees on 1 January had requested the Sixth Pay Commission to grant them a five-day working, Bangalore Mirror had reported. “As of now, work load has increased on the present employees as about 2.80 lakh posts are lying vacant in various departments of the government. The memorandum has been submitted to the commission two months ago," Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association president BP Manjegowda was quoted as saying by Bangalore Mirror. In October last year, the association had urged the government to announce a 30 percent percent hike in salaries, The Hindu had reported. “A Group D employee of the State government gets 44 percent less than his counterpart with the Union government. Similarly, a Group A employee gets as much as 114 percent less. The government should put an end to the disparity,” Manjegowda was quoted as saying by The Hindu.