Confederation In Wait-And-Watch Mode Amid 186% Salary Hike Speculations

The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers is in wait-and-watch mode, even as speculations are rife on the formation of the 8th Pay Commission and the fitment factor that would be recommended by the panel.

The speculations of a 186% hike in salaries were triggered after Shiv Gopal Mishra, the secretary, staff side, of the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery, or NC-JCM, told earlier this month that "we are looking at a fitment factor of not less than 2.86.".

Mishra's views assumed significance as the NC-JCM is an official platform, headed by the Union Cabinet Secretary, to resolve all disputes between the government and employees through dialogue.

The Confederation—an umbrella body representing several registered staff associations—adopted a cautionary tone on the matter. "It will be too early to comment on the fitment factor. The announcement of the 8th Pay Commission is still awaited," Rupak Sarkar, the president of the organisation, told NDTV Profit.

"Things are still at an early stage. We are in the process of preparing (our demands)," he said.

The fitment factor is the multiplication unit used by the government to revise the salaries of its employees and pensions of retirees. The last pay panel—the 7th Pay Commission—had recommended a fitment factor of 2.57, which resulted in a hike in minimum salary from Rs 7,000 to Rs 17,990.

A fitment factor of 2.86, if recommended by the 8th Pay Commission, may result in the minimum salary rising by 186% from Rs 17,990 at present to Rs 51,451. Similarly, the minimum pension could rise from Rs 9,000 to Rs 25,740.

Considering the pace of inflation, "we certainly expect that the fitment factor to be recommended by the 8th Pay Commission will be higher than what was recommended by the last pay commission," said Mishra, who is also the general secretary of the All India Railwaymen's Federation.

"As far as the staff side of the NC-JCM goes, we will demand a certain fitment factor. And that will not be less than 2.86," he had said earlier this month.

Even as the talks shift towards the fitment factor, it should be noted that the 8th Pay Commission is yet to be established by the Centre. In the last Parliament session in July, the Ministry of Finance told the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha that there was no proposal presently under consideration.

"Two representations have been received for the constitution of the 8th Central Pay Commission in June 2024. No such proposal is under consideration of the government at present," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said.

According to employee unions, the government's statement in the Parliament does not mean that the formation of the 8th Pay Commission has been ruled out. Since the last salary hike came into effect on Jan. 1, 2016, the next revision should be due on Jan. 1, 2026, they pointed out. "There is still much left time for the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission," a senior Confederation member said last month.

Mishra reiterated the view. The date of the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission's recommendation will be more important than the date of the panel's formation, he said. "As far as I know, no government can deny the revision of salaries for its employees after a gap of 10 years."