New Delhi, April 30: A wage increment from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 - which is beyond the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission - is on the wishlist of Central Government employees for the past two years.

In July, 2016, the Group D employees had first geared up to agitate against the lacklustre recommendations made by the 7th Pay Commission. Their leader, a veteran unionist and general secretary of the All India Railwaymen Federation, Shiv Gopal Mishra, had called off the strike after government assured him of revising the pay panel's recommendation.

The strike, which was originally planned on July 11, 2016, was expected to see the participation of 33 lakh government employees. According to some of the disgruntled members of the workforce, the union leaders should had went on with the strike, "rather than falling into the trap of government".

In a bid to prevent the strike, which included the participation of Railway employees, the government had set up a high-level committee chaired by the then Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa.

The committee, which submitted its revised report in June last year, did not pitch for incrementing the minimum wages of the employees.

The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA), which has been spearheading the negotiations with the government, said it has not dropped the issue of minimum wages. "We are constantly appealing the government to revise the fitment factor," said Mishra, who is also the convenor of NJCA.

After two years of anticipation, hope fades away from the central government employees. To add to their misery, several top media houses (on the digital platform) have launched a fake news campaign related to pay hike.

Mishra, while speaking to this reporter, said there are no basis to the reports being circulated in the media. "We appeal the employees to not be misled by certain section of the media. If there will be any changes regarding their pay structure, the Joint Council of Action will announce the same," he had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2018 11:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).