Unions starts demanding constitution of 8th Central Pay Commission

The Central Government Staff Unions and Associations have started the demand for the 8^th Central Pay Commission to revise the pay, salary and other allowances. This will be one of the most closely followed central government staff news. There is a general feeling that the recommendation of the previous CPC didn't address the genuine needs of the employees. The charter of demands published by the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers has demanded 8^th CPC as well as wage revision and Pension revision every 5 years. The demand point is as follows. 

Implement five-year wage revision and Pension revision to Central Government employees and Pensioners.  Appoint 8^th Central Pay Commission and revise the Pay, Allowances and Pensionary benefits of Central Government employees and Pensioners with effect from 01-01-2021.

The 7^th Central Pay Commission (7CPC), constituted in February 2014 the principles and structure of emoluments of all central government civilian employees including defence forces in India, submitted its report on 19 November 2015 Even though the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations were approved by the government in June 2016 and implemented with effect from 1 January 2016, many of the anomalies remain. One of the major points that the employees, especially at the lower level point out is the increased disparity between the lowest and highest salaries. Before the implementation of the 7^th CPC recommendations, The ratio of minimum and maximum pay was 1:11.42, which was widened to 1:12.5 present. 

Also, there was the argument that the fitment factor ought to have been 3.714 and not 2.57 as recommended by the CPC. The general view is that the minimum basic pay should be not have been less than Rs 26,000/- against the present Rs 18,000/- approved by the government. The Staff-Side has objected to the methodology adopted by the 7^th CPC in computing the Minimum Wage. There were recent reports that the government is working on revising the fitment factor at least for lower levels of employees.  (Read: Reports suggests govt. working on revising fitment factor)

A High-Level Committee to look into employees' demands on 7^th Pay Commission as appointed by the government and had reviewed the matter but the government has not considered it further 

The unions further allege that when the 7^th Salary Commission recommendations were implemented, Finance Minister under the previous Narendra Modi government promised that he would look into raising the minimum pay of employees under the 7^th Pay Commission, but that this never happened.

What is a Central Pay Commission?

Central Pay Commission review the salary structure of the Central government employees and recommends changes. The commission is set up by the union government to review the pay structure of all civil and military divisions of the Government of India. So far there has been seven pay commissions have been set up for this. The commission gets input and suggestions from various stakeholders. Meetings are organised with various unions and associations representing the employees. Even similar agencies overseas are consulted and met. Based on the findings and various other factors, the commission makes the recommendations that are submitted by the government. While most of the recommendations are accepted by the government, a few may also be rejected or amended. 

The government frames the terms of reference for this Commission. For the seventh pay commission, the terms are to examine and review the existing pay structure and to recommend changes in
the pay, allowances and other facilities as are desirable and feasible for civil employees as well as for the Defence Forces,  It also mandated the Commission to make the recommendations keeping the best global practices and their adaptability and relevance in Indian conditions.

When is the 8^th Central Pay Commission expected to be announced?

The pay of the central government staff is revised once every 10 years. The 7^th CPC was constituted in February 2014 and was given a time frame of 18 months to submit its report. The new salary structure came into effect on January 1, 2016. Hence it can be assumed that the new pay structure will be due from January 2026. It has to be noted that the next government will assume power by June 2024, with the Lok Sabha election in April and May 2024. There will be a small duration before that when the government cannot announce any major activities due to the model code of conduct after announcing the elections. Also, the government will definitely be looking for goodwill among employees during the elections. This is seen mostly in announcing the Dearness Allowance even though the government has no role in it. Hence considering all these factors, the eighth Central Pay Commission is likely to be announced during second half of 2023.