Himachal government notification on withdrawing higher pay grade held in abeyance: CM Sukhu   

Facing flak from employee unions and the opposition BJP, the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday "held in abeyance" the September 6 notification withdrawing higher pay grade to its employees.

The notification affected about 14,000 employees of 89 categories who feared that they would suffer a loss of Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per month.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Monday said that the notification to remove Rule 7A from the Himachal Pradesh Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2022, issued on September 6, shall be held in abeyance as the government was committed to safeguarding the interests of the employees and issuing such a notification was not justified.

While making amendments in rules and regulations, humanitarian concerns must always be kept in mind, he stressed in a statement issued here.

Earlier in the day, Secretariat employees' associations met the chief minister and requested him to withdraw the notification.

The BJP had said that Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country where the Congress government has reduced employees' salaries and accused the party of cheating the people of the state.

A fresh notification was issued later in the day putting the pay revision on hold.