Government has rights to reduce the salaries of the employees: AP HC

In a decision issued on Monday, the Andhra Pradesh High Court stated that the state government is within its rights to reduce the salaries of employees when the economy is not doing well.

Although the court acknowledged that there is no hard and fast rule stating that salaries cannot be reduced, it concluded that the ability of an employer to do so must be considered (State government).

A division bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice BS Bhanumathi, while dealing with a petition filed by AP Gazetted Officers JAC chairman KV Krishnaiah stating that the new Pay Revision Commission (PRC) report is in violation of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and that the GOs issued should be stayed, reminded the petitioner that the government must consider its revenue and budgetary allocations.

According to the bench, it is common practice to make adjustments regardless of whether salaries are increased or decreased. In response, the government questioned how employees could object when the government is stating that it will recover funds from where the increased salaries were given to them.

According to the court, the petitioner must proceed on the basis of actual receipt. Because of a lack of clarity regarding whether salaries have increased or decreased, as well as the fact that the same employees have decided to go on strike, the bench desired to speak with employees' union leaders and requested that they be available following the lunch break.

Suryanarayana, the president of the Andhra Pradesh Government Employees' Association, told reporters after the strike notice was served that it had been a "very painful day." "Because we believed that the government's approach was incorrect, we issued a strike notice," he explained. He claimed that the government was deceiving the public about the People's Republic of China (PRC). His assertion that this is not a sporadic agitation prompted him to call on the government to take the matter seriously. He made it clear that they will only participate in talks if and when the government pays them their back wages for this month and makes the report of the Ashutosh Mishra Committee available for public consumption.