Right now everyone is talking about the 8th Pay Commission. What will be the new salary increase rate for central government employees? Since the Eighth Pay Commission was announced, there’s been a lot of chatter about it. In the previous Seventh Pay Commission, the government set the pay fixing basis (fitment factor) at 2.57, and many think they’ll stick with that for this round too.
Shivgopal Mishra, the Secretary of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery, has already shared his thoughts with the media. He mentioned, “I still believe the Commission will keep the fitment factor at least at 2.57 for determining the basic pay. However, it might go up from there.” It’s important to note that this council works through discussions to tackle salary-related issues for central government employees.
If the fitment factor remains at 2.57 in the Eighth Pay Commission, central government employees could see their basic pay jump by 157 percent. Currently, the minimum pay is set at Rs 18,000, which could rise to around Rs 46,260. However, there hasn’t been any official confirmation on this yet.
Pensioners will also see some financial relief if the new pay commission is implemented. Right now, the minimum pension for retired central government employees is Rs 9,000, which is expected to increase to Rs 23,130. The Seventh Pay Commission also raised salaries and pensions at the same rate, with the minimum basic pay going from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000.
Sources say that after the Eighth Pay Commission was announced, employees pushed for the fitment factor to be raised to 2.86. Former Union Finance Secretary Subhash Garg commented on this in an interview, saying, “Asking for a fitment factor of 2.86 is like wishing for the moon. That’s just not feasible.” He suggested that it might actually be around 1.92.
If what the former Finance Secretary said is accurate, central government employees could see their salaries jump by 92 percent. This means the minimum basic pay would rise from Rs 18,000 to Rs 34,560. Interestingly, the Indian Labour Conference’s decision back in 1957 about minimum wage was key in determining the fitment factor for the Seventh Pay Commission. However, a lot has changed since then, making it unlikely that salaries will be adjusted based on those old standards this time around. Central Secretary Mishra has made it clear that the commission will set the fitment factor based on current requirements.
The Seventh Pay Commission’s term wraps up on December 31 this year. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has hinted that the Eighth Pay Commission will kick off on January 1 next year, with the Union Cabinet giving the green light for the new Pay Commission in mid-January 2025.
