8th Pay Commission: We can probably say that a Pay Commission decides the future of Central Government Employees and Pensioners for at least 10 years. Furthermore, India has the population of about 140 crores and currently 1 crore of these, enjoy the privilege of being the workers or former workers of the Central Government. The then UPA government formed the 7th Pay Commission in 2014 and the NDA government implemented it in 2016.
Meanwhile, everyone is waiting for the Terms of Reference (ToR) to be finalized, which is expected to happen by April. Moreover, the National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) Staff Side has sent a proposal for the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the upcoming 8th Pay Commission to the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) in response to their letter.
8th Pay Commission: Key Proposals In Terms of Reference
The Terms of Reference (ToR) propose a major overhaul of the pay and allowances structure for central government employees. Here are the key points:
- Pay Restructuring: Review of pay structure for all categories of employees, including merging non-viable pay scales to improve career progression.
- Minimum Wage: Determining a decent minimum wage based on the Aykroyd formula and 15th Indian Labour Conference recommendations.
- Dearness Allowance: Merging DA with basic pay and pension for better financial security.
- Retirement Benefits: Revising pension, gratuity, and family pension benefits, and restoring the defined pension scheme for employees recruited after January 1, 2004.
- Medical Benefits: Improving CGHS facilities for cashless and hassle-free medical services.
- Education Allowance: Enhancing Children’s Education Allowance and hostel subsidy up to post-graduation level.
100% Salary Hike For Central Govt Employees?
M. Raghavaiah, staff side leader of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), recently told NDTV Profit that they will consider a ‘fitment factor of 2’ under the new Pay Commission. Moreover, this will translate into a 100% Pay hike.
Currently, the minimum basic salary for central government employees is Rs 18,000 and the minimum basic pension for pensioners is Rs 9,000, under the 7th Pay Commission.
At fitment factor of 2, the minimum basic pay of Central government employees will become Rs 36,000/month and minimum basic pension will surge to Rs 18,000.
