7th Pay Commission Latest News Today: Hike in Minimum Pay, Fitment Factor For Central Government Employees Likely in August?

7th Pay Commission Latest News: Lakhs of Central Government employees are waiting for the Centre to announce a hike in the minimum pay and fitment factor beyond recommendations of 7th CPC.

7th Pay Commission Latest News: The hopes of over 50 Lakh Central Government employees and an equivalent number of retirees for a hike in minimum pay and fitment factor beyond 7th Pay Commission, are continuously on a high as August approaches. As reports suggest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make an announcement related to a hike in the fitment factor and minimum pay of Central Government employees on August 15, i.e. Independence Day.

Meanwhile, the government is expected to increase the dearness allowance for central government employees and pensioners soon and this may happen with a change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and base year for calculating the allowance. The move is expected to benefit 48.41 lakh central government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners. Earlier in March, the Centre, following the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission, increased the dearness allowance by 2 per cent.

In another good news, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to double the House Rent Allowance (HRA) and City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) for the state employees. The hike, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, is expected to benefit 15 lakh employees, including 5.5 lakh government teachers. The step by Yogi Adityanath government in the state has made the Central government employees, waiting for a hike in minimum pay and fitment factor under recommendations of the 7th CPC or 7th Central Pay Commission, even more anxious.

Some reports are also hinting towards a hike in minimum pay and fitment factor beyond 7th Pay Commission recommendations before the announcement of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 dates by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

On the other hand, a hike in minimum support price (MSP) announced by PM Modi recently has acted a ray of hope for over 50 lakh Central Government employees who are waiting for the Centre nod’s for a hike in their salaries beyond 7th CPC recommendations.

The governments of Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have already started providing the benefits of 7th Pay Commission to the state employees. Notably, Minister of State in Finance P Radhakrishnan, earlier this year, had dashed the hopes of over 50 lakh employees who have been demanding higher minimum pay and fitment factor. He had informed Rajya Sabha that the Centre was not considering hiking minimum pay and fitment factor beyond the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

The Central and state government employees are demanding a hike from 2.57 times to 3.68 times in fitment factor beyond Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, claim reports.