8th Pay Commission : The winter session of Parliament is set to begin on December 1, 2025. During this period, central employees and pensioners face a major concern: will the government provide clarity on the 8th Central Pay Commission’s (CPC) terms of reference? Its notification was issued in early November, but several key points remain unclear. Employees and pensioners want the commission’s recommendations implemented quickly, but historically, this process has taken time.
8th Pay Commission
The central government has authorized the 8th Pay Commission to begin its work. It is expected to take 12 to 18 months for the commission to prepare its recommendations. Both the government and employees want the recommendations implemented quickly, but based on the experience of the 7th Pay Commission, this is unlikely. It should be noted that the 7th Pay Commission was formed in 2014, and its recommendations came into effect on January 1, 2016. The commission’s term expires in 2026. Generally, the central government constitutes a pay commission every 10 years to revise the salaries of its employees. State governments also revise their employees’ salaries based on the Central Pay Commission.
Demand for implementation of 7th Pay Commission rejected
At the time of the 7th CPC, the JCM—Staff Side and Pensioners Association—comprising employees and pensioners demanded that the Commission’s recommendations be implemented from January 1, 2014. They argued that not merging DA with basic pay was reducing the true value of salaries. They also demanded salary revisions every five years. However, the 7th Pay Commission rejected these demands.
The Commission stated that the Commission was formed in 2014 and its recommendations would be made available before the 6th CPC’s 10-year term ends. The Commission clarified that the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations would be implemented from January 1, 2016, and that demands for early implementation could not be accepted.
It is now anticipated that the 8th Pay Commission’s recommendations will not be implemented soon and will remain in place as scheduled. However, the government may offer some relief. The main demand of employee and pensioner unions is that the existing dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) be merged into the basic pay, as the current DA is insufficient to cover actual inflation.
Unions have also expressed displeasure over the lack of a clear mention of pension reforms and the date for the Commission’s recommendations to be implemented. Parliament will also be questioned on this issue during the session, and it remains to be seen whether the government takes any action in accordance with the demands of employees and pensioners.