The Hindu Business Line : Market-linked salaries recommended for scientists

New Delhi, March 24 To help the Government get quality scientific talent for its laboratories and institutions, the Sixth Pay Commission has suggested market-driven salaries to young scientists and professionals. To ensure this, it has suggested contractual job options, time-bound promotions and peer group reviews, amongst others, for the scientific workforce.

“Emoluments should not be a bar for recruiting a scientist of merit whose services are considered necessary,” the Pay panel said in its report.

Time-bound promotion schemes may be necessary for scientific organisations as the morale of scientists has to be kept high in order to keep them motivated and to stop the flight of talent from government organisations involved in research and scientific activities, the report said, laying emphasis on an independent peer group review rather than the ‘seniority’ to evaluate the achievements of the scientist.

Suggesting that a contract for hiring scientists should be for a period of three or five years, the report has also pointed out that both the employer (Government) and the employee (scientist) should have the option of renewal of the contract.

The report stated the scientists should also be given an option of joining the Government as a permanent employee in the regular scale of pay, allowances and other benefits at the time of contract renewal.

“The criteria for identifying institutions and organisations as scientific and technical institutions and defining scientists and scientific posts should be made more objective and stringent,” it said.

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