8th Pay Commission: The 8th Pay Commission continues discussions with employee unions and pensioner associations. In the meantime, the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) has submitted its recommendations to the Commission. The proposals include doubling the annual increment, raising pensions and house rent allowance (HRA), and increasing the leave encashment limit at retirement. If approved, these demands could significantly affect central government employees’ monthly salaries and retirement benefits.
Demand to raise pensions from 50% to 67%
The NC-JCM has proposed raising central government employees’ pensions to 67% of their last salary, up from the current 50%. It has also called for the family pension rate to rise from 30% to 50%. If accepted, the proposal would increase the pensions paid to retired employees and their families.
Annual increment to rise from 3% to 6%
Central government employees currently receive an annual increment equal to 3% of their basic salary. The NC-JCM has called for this rate to be increased to 6%. The employee union says that, with inflation rising rapidly, a 3% annual increment is not enough.
Demand to raise current HRA rates
The employees’ union has also called for higher House Rent Allowance (HRA) rates. Currently, rates depend on the city category: 30% of basic pay in metropolitan cities, 20% in medium-sized cities, and 10% in other cities. The union has proposed increasing these rates to 40%, 35%, and 30%, respectively.
Leave encashment limit to rise to 600 days
Central government employees can currently encash up to 300 days of accumulated earned leave when they retire. The NC-JCM has proposed doubling the limit to 600 days. Leave encashment is calculated using eligible pay components, including basic pay and dearness allowance (DA).
Basic pay proposed at Rs 83,200 by combining Pay Level 2 and 3
The NC-JCM also recommended merging certain levels of the existing pay matrix. This proposal proposes combining the minimum basic pay of Level 2 and Level 3 employees to create a uniform pay scale of Rs 83,200. If this demand is accepted, the pay structure of employees at the respective pay levels could change.
The commission is expected to submit its report by May next year
The 8th Pay Commission will prepare its report after considering all the demands of employees’ unions and pensioners’ associations. It is expected to submit its report to the government by May next year. The government will then consider the report and make a final decision. If the Commission submits its recommendations by May, the government could take a decision by the end of next year.