8th Pay Commission: The 8th Pay Commission’s two-day stakeholders’ meeting commences today in Kolkata to discuss central employees’ salaries, allowances, and pensions. Scheduled until July 10th, the meeting aims to gather feedback, opinions, and suggestions from various employee unions, pensioner organizations, and stakeholders.
It is anticipated that participating unions and stakeholders will present numerous outstanding demands. These gatherings are deemed essential by the government before final decisions are made. Recently, the Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh suggested a four-fold fitment factor, which, if accepted, would raise the minimum basic salary to Rs 72,000.
Where were the previous meetings held?
Before Kolkata, the 8th Pay Commission conducted consultation meetings in Bhubaneswar on July 6-7, engaging with associations, employee unions, pensioners, and other stakeholders. Similar discussions have taken place in Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Srinagar, and Ladakh.
The Kolkata meeting is expected to focus on which key issues?
The primary topic of discussion will likely revolve around the fitment factor: Employee unions and stakeholders attending the Kolkata meeting are anticipated to bring up various outstanding demands. The most significant of these is the request for a substantial revision in the fitment factor. Most unions are advocating for a fitment factor ranging from 2.86 to 3.8, in contrast to the 2.57 proposed by the 7th Pay Commission. Additionally, the National Council Staff Side has put forward a fitment factor of 3.833 in its recommendations.
There will also be a push for an increase in the minimum basic pay: Unions consider the fitment factor to be a crucial parameter as it directly impacts the revised basic pay. Consequently, they will insist on a raise in the minimum basic pay, which currently stands at Rs 18,000. Another significant demand from employee unions is the reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Despite the implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme by the central government, many unions persist in advocating for a return to the old pension system.
Highlights of the 8th Pay Commission
The 8th Pay Commission was introduced by the central government in January 2025 and constituted on November 3, 2025. The commission has been given an 18-month deadline to submit its recommendations. Under this plan, the commission will assess the country’s economic conditions, economic realities, fiscal sustainability, government finances, pension liabilities, salary structures in central public sector undertakings, and private sector compensation and service conditions before preparing its final report.