The wait for the Eighth Pay Commission has been very long. The government announced the formation of a pay commission at the start of 2025. But now the year is almost over, and the government has not taken any steps. No one knows why the government has been silent. Employee organizations are getting frustrated. A big protest has been announced on 19 September.
After many months, the government has now made a positive statement. DOPT Minister Jitendra Singh said that the pay commission will be formed soon. Last month, a team from the National Federation of Government Employees (GENC) met Jitendra Singh. The employee organizations questioned the government about the delay. They asked when the pay commission will be formed and when the TOR will be issued. This news was reported by Financial Express.
Pay Commission: Salary, Fitment, and Pension
The pay commission will be formed soon, but the suspense remains about the fitment factor. In the last pay commission, the fitment factor was 2.57, which increased the salary of central government employees by about two and a half times. The basic salary of ₹7,000 became ₹18,000. This was higher than the 1.86 factor of the Sixth Pay Commission.
This time, employee organizations want the fitment factor to be at least 3.5. Currently, discussions suggest it may be between 1.83 to 2.86, which can increase salaries by 13% to 34%.
According to Moneycontrol, along with salary, pensioners will also get big benefits. Right now, the minimum salary is ₹18,000 and the minimum pension is ₹9,000. If a fitment factor of 2.5 is applied, the minimum pension can increase to ₹22,000–₹25,000. There are around 49 lakh employees, but 69 lakh pensioners, so more people will benefit from the pension increase.
Currently, there are three pension formulas in discussion. NPS has no guaranteed pension. UPS guarantees 50% pension, but employees are not happy with it. Employees are asking for the old pension system, which used to give full pension but was abolished 20 years ago. There is a chance that the Pay Commission may introduce a new formula combining NPS, UPS, and OPS.