I would like to raise the issue of retrograde recommendation of the Fifth Pay Commissions for the Subordinate Engineers' Cadre of the All India Radio and the Doordarshan of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Eight thousand of them had appealed. I had sought hon. Speaker's permission to present a petition today. But it did not find a place in the Order Paper.
What has happened is that the Second, the Third and the Fourth Pay Commission had given them improvements. The Cabinet gave them improvements in 1993 after the Fourth Pay Commission recommendations. The Supreme Court judgment of 1988 was given effect to by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with retrospective effect from 1978. Again in 1995, it was improved.
Now, what the Pay Commission by its recommendation has sought is striking at the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature and have recommended a grade which is far lower than what was given by the Fourth Pay Commission.
So, I submit that these 8,000 people will be thrown into distress if their petition is not conveyed to the Petitions Committee. We are going to adjourn for one month. I do not know whether the Government is going to accept the recommendations of the Pay Commission. Once it does so, then, it will be a fait accompli.
These employees have gone to the Joint Consultative Machinery. They have appeared before the Pay Commission. But they have not had any sympathetic hearing. Even the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is supporting their cause.
SHRIMATI SUKHBUNS KAUR (GURDASHPUR):