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8th Pay Commission update: Amid the discontent among employees and pensioners over the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Pay Commission, nearly 1.2 crore central government employees and retirees are now awaiting the commencement of the Winter session of the Parliament, where the Union government is expected to address the concerns revolving around various aspects of the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC), including alleged anomalies in the ToR and the claims about pensioners being left out of the purview of the 8th CPC.
Employees’ bodies, including the Central Govt Employees & Workers, has flagged several concerns about ToR for the 8th Pay Commission, which was approved earlier this month, claiming that around 69 lakh pensioners have been excluded from the pay panel, and the ToR does not mention an implementation date for the 8th CPC.
It is expected that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address these concerns and also consider other demands made by the unions, such as the revival of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for all employees, during the Winter Session of the Parliament which begins on December 1.
Debates over the 8th Pay Commission are expected during the upcoming Parliament Session as opposition MP’s are likely to seek answers from the government over concerns such as ToR anamolies and long-standing employees’ demands like Dearness Allowance (DA) merger, pension benefits, and the fitment factor.
Hundreds of questions related to the 8th Pay Commission have been uploaded on the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha portals, including a written question by Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauriya. which seeks government clarification on key points, including whether the Centre has formally constituted the 8th, and whether DA should be merged with basic pay as an immediate relief measure.
One of the pressing demands of central government employees is the merger of Dearness Allowance (DA) and and Dearness Relief (DR) with basic pay. Employees’ bodies have argued that DA increments have failed to keep up with retail inflation over the last three decades, and the allowance has crossed a threshold that requires a merger to provide an immediate relief to workers.
The Union government is expected to clarify whether it has plans to merge DA with basic pay, and notify a timeline for the merger. If there are no such plans, employees want the government to cite reasons for refusing the merger, and offer alternate relief measures.
Notably, the last DA merger took place ahead of the 6th Pay Commission in 2004, which had resulted in a significant salary hike and enhanced retirement benefits as most allowances and pension components are calculated based on basic pay.
In a circular issued on Monday, the Confederation of Central Govt Employees & Workers put forth its ‘Charter of Demands’, which includes the following demands;
The confederation claimed that central government has not initiated any tangible action to resolve the grievances of employees and pensioners related to the 8th Pay Commission, and demanded the modification of the ToR by “incorporating suggestions/ views given by Confederation and staff side NC-JCM on Revision of emoluments of Employees and Pensioners and other issues”.
Earlier this month, on November 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet approved the terms of reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission, which will benefit 50 lakh central government employees and 69 lakh pensioners and will have implications on the emoluments of the staff of state governments.
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