Dearness Allowance: Teachers' bodies in West Bengal welcome 20% DA hike, want another increase this year — What we know

Dearness allowance: The Teachers' organisations in West Bengal said it is satisfied by the state's decision to hike dearness allowance (DA) by 20 percentage points, PTI repprted.

Presenting the state budget on 22 June, West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced that DA and dearness relief (DR) for state government employees and pensioners would be raised by 20 percentage points from October 1, taking the total DA to 38%.

DA Hike: What did Teachers' organisation say?

Swapan Mondal, general secretary of the Bangiya Shikshak O Shikshakarmi Samiti welcomed the decision, stating, “This is a welcome step. The previous government had left behind a huge backlog, and no government could have settled the entire issue at one go.”

“We are broadly satisfied with the decision. At the same time, we would appeal to the government to clear the remaining 22% by December,” Mondal added.

Kinkar Adhikari, general secretary of the Shikshanuragi Oikya Manch also welcomed the announcement, but sought faster implementation. He said, “We congratulate the government for announcing a 20% DA hike and addressing a long-standing grievance of employees. However, we demand that the enhanced DA be made effective from July and that all remaining arrears be cleared expeditiously.”

Why is the DA, HR hike significant?

The 20% hike in DA and DR, effect from 1 October 2026 increases each component to 38% of basic salary for West Bengal state government employees and pensioners.

While West Bengal state employees and pensioners are still covered by the 5th Central Pay Commission (CPC) and 6th CPC, which have much lower salaries, in comparison, central government employees and pensioners are covered by the 7th CPC, which offers a different pay structure and increases pay.

Further, with the 8th CPC underway, there are also concerns that the salary gap will widen even more.

Notably, in a relief, Monday's announcement narrows the gap between the DA received by state government employees and their central government counterparts by 22 percentage points — a significant improvement. This is down from the previous gap of 42 percentage points between the two.

More DA hikes on the way for Bengal employees?

Notably, CM Adhikari has also committed to implementing the 7th pay commission recommendations by January 2027, Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of the Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees told reporters earlier this month.

“The chief minister has assured us that the DA gap with the Centre will be bridged in phases. We expect a major announcement on this issue in the state budget on 22 June,” Ghosh told reporters on 1 June.

“Issues relating to pay disparities among state government employees, including temporary staff, were also discussed during the meeting. The chief minister himself proposed that regular meetings be held between the state government and employees' organisations. A framework for such consultations is being worked out,” Ghosh added.

DA hike: 7th state pay commission formed

Earlier in May, the state government approved formation of the 7th state pay commission to decide salary and DA hikes for state government employees, educational institutions, government corporation, board staff and state government-aided bodies. The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on 18 May, chaired by Adhikari at Nabanna, the West Bengal state secretariat.

According to the state Women, Child and Social Welfare Minister Agnimitra, the state's 7th pay commission will consider an upward revision of salaries of employees. She added that the scope of a pay hike would also extend to staff of statutory entities such as civic bodies, local bodies and education boards, as well as those working in state-run education institutions, as per another PTI report.

(With inputs from PTI)