Pay hike: Why PSU chiefs are upset

Unwilling to compromise autonomy for a hefty pay hike announced on Thursday, several PSUs chiefs on Friday conveyed displeasure to the government over a directive asking them not to create senior posts in their units without the approval of their administrative ministries.

Several heads of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) are upset over a directive from the Department of Public Enterprises asking them not to "create any posts at the level of E7 to E9 (General Manager - Executive Director) without the approval of the concerned administrative ministry/department".

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The Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), a body of PSUs, has resented the move to "impinge" the independent functioning of the state-run units, a highly placed DPE official said.

"Such directives, at this juncture, if implemented would impinge upon the empowerment already given to CPSEs," SCOPE chairman S Behuria said in a letter to Public Enterprises Secretary R Bandyopadhyay.

The government had on Thursday approved a hefty hike in pay scales of the PSU executives, with the top level receiving as much as 96 per cent increase.

Behuria, who is chairman of the Indian Oil Corp, has also raised the issue with Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Dev.

He said if objective of DPE's directive was to discourage PSUs from upgrading positions to give undue advantage of the pay hikes, it should be clarified that the same would cease to operate after salary revision.

"This is certainly a retrograde step and would set in demoralisation among the CPSEs management/employees. This matter has been brought to my notice as SCOPE chairman by several PSU chiefs," Behuria said.