8th Pay Commission: There is a another major update for central government employees. This is because almost all the terms of reference issued by the government for the constitution of the Pay Commission simply state that the Eighth Central Pay Commission should take into account the economic conditions, financial prudence, ensuring adequate resources for developmental expenditure and welfare measures and, worst of all, the unfunded cost of the non-contributory pension scheme.
Amarjeet Kaur says that these considerations only come to the government’s mind when it comes to providing benefits to employees and pensioners. The Modi government never considers these economic conditions and financial prudence when granting relief and waivers on loans taken by corporations from public banks, or when reducing tax rates on corporations.
The Eighth Pay Commission, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, is obligated to conduct an impartial study and recommend a minimum wage commensurate with the needs of a five-unit family, not a three-unit family, despite government restrictions, given that children now have a legal responsibility to care for elderly parents under the Protection of Parents/Senior Citizens Act, or the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents/Senior Citizens Act, 2007. Parents are, therefore, now part of the family.
Furthermore, considering the necessities of life today, including expenditure on information technology, children’s education and healthcare, all of which have been privatized by the current government, the Eighth Pay Commission should recommend a minimum wage. This is so that government employees who come through various competitive examinations can live a respectable and dignified life. According to the AITUC General Secretary, it is a matter of concern that the changes made by the government to the CPC (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021) through the Finance Act, regarding the revision of pensions for employees who retired before January 1, 2026, are discriminating between future and past pensioners, as has happened before.
The government should specifically ask the Eighth Pay Commission to recommend a pension revision equal to that of employees serving from January 1, 2026. Similarly, it is the responsibility of the Eighth Central Pay Commission to consider the legitimate demand of more than 24 lakh central government employees covered under the NPS to be included in the non-contributory old pension scheme from January 1, 2026.
