Every time a pay commission is implemented, all manners of people start hurling abuse at government servants. If they are overstaffed, unqualified, poorly managed, lack meritocracy, etc, is it their fault? If the upper management of a corporation sucks, should it stop paying competitive salary to its employees?

I've worked closely with a lot of government employees over the last 18 years. Today, for any government employee, it is hard to make ends meet. On a single income at least. And those with dual incomes - we keep transferring one or the other spouse so they never seem to be able to live together as a family.

We don't want to pay them because they are 'lazy'. Yet we don't want them to be corrupt. In all this, a lot of the honest, hardworking talent just gives up and moves on. Brain drain of government servants is a serious issue, at least in high technology sectors such as software.

With no provision for lateral entry of fresh talent, imagine what happens over time? The talented, hard working ones will move to greener pastures. The ones that stay longer and move higher will be exactly the kind of employee we dislike.

Let us not oppose a pay hike. Let us instead demand meritocracy, an end to compulsory promotion, and weeding out of those that are truly 'lazy'.