8th Pay Commission: Central government workers and retirees are worried about the inconsistencies found in the recently published Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC). Various employee unions have reached out to the government, pointing out that many crucial aspects in the ToR are either absent or vague compared to earlier pay commissions.
These unions and groups have raised concerns about the lack of clarity on several key matters like pay revision, the pension system, provisions regarding NPS/UPS, DA arrears, compassionate appointments, and trade union rights. As a result, employees and pensioners are left puzzled about the government’s intentions.
Winter session starting from December 1
With the Winter Session of Parliament kicking off on December 1st, employees and pensioners are pinning their hopes on the discussions that will take place during this session. Several MPs in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are likely to press the government on these matters, which should help clarify the situation. The Finance Ministry is expected to officially address these significant issues next week.
In inquiries posted on the Rajya Sabha website, MPs Javed Ali Khan and Ramji Lal Suman have asked the government if pension revision has been excluded from the 8th Pay Commission’s ToR. This question has ignited a serious discussion regarding the ToR. While all previous Pay Commissions clearly mentioned pension revision, this section is absent from the 8th CPC ToR. This uncertainty has raised alarms among pensioners that pension revision might have been left out of the Commission’s responsibilities this time around.
The question posed in the Rajya Sabha directly inquired whether a pension revision is “not proposed” and, if that’s the case, what the rationale is behind this significant change. Employee organizations argue that this alteration is a serious concern for millions of pensioners. Additionally, MPs have brought up another critical issue—the merging of DA and DR into basic pay. With the dearness allowance (DA) surpassing 50% and inflation remaining high, employee organizations…
69 lakh pensioners relying on pension updates
About 6.9 million pensioners rely on pension updates to keep their earnings comparable to current workers. If the government decides to exclude pension updates from the 8th Pay Commission’s agenda, it could cause major shifts in the pension system and further increase the income disparity between older and newer pensioners. Unions argue that phrases like “unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes” in the Terms of Reference suggest that the government is more focused on financial issues than on social security.
This has led to growing discontent and worry among pensioners. Employee groups and federations are keeping a close eye on the government’s reply, which is anticipated on December 2nd. If the response fails to address the concerns of employees, they are gearing up to escalate their protests.