8th Pay Commission update: The Eighth Pay Commission is actively working to present its recommendations to the government. To facilitate this, the Commission is conducting regular meetings in various cities nationwide. Concurrently, employee organizations are voicing several requests to the Pay Commission. One significant request pertains to dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR).
What is the request?
There is a call to adjust DA and DR every three months. Recently, the Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS) urged the 8th Pay Commission to reassess dearness allowance and relief quarterly and to consider merging them with the basic pension if DR surpasses 25%. The BPS argues that these measures will assist both current and retired employees in managing inflation. It’s important to note that the Bharat Pensioners Samaj represents around 1 million pensioners.
What is the current status?
At present, the government evaluates DA and DR biannually, or every six months. The first review occurs in March or April, while the second takes place in September or October. The first review covers the period from January to June, and the second from July to December.
What does the Bharat Pensioners Society say?
The Bharat Pensioners Samaj emphasized that inflation adversely affects the living standards of pensioners and requested that this figure be assessed based on a quarterly average, along with point-to-point compensation. The main demands from the Bharat Pensioners Samaj include a minimum pension of Rs 45,000.
Alongside the quarterly allowance reviews, the BPS has suggested a minimum pension of Rs 45,000 and a minimum basic pay of Rs 69,000 with a fitment factor of 3.83. They have also proposed a 5.2 weighted-unit family formula for determining the fitment factor. The BPS is advocating for a minimum pay of ₹69,000 and a factor of 3.83, akin to the NC-JCM staff side.
The BPS is demanding a minimum pay of Rs 69,000 and a factor of 3.83, similar to the NC-JCM staff side. The BPS has also demanded a review of pay and pension every five years instead of every 10 years.