Ever since the 8th Pay Commission was given the green signal by the Government of India, there has been a lot of speculation about the salary of the employees. The eyes of the employees are fixed on the increase in salary and the fitment factor. This time, the employee organizations are strongly demanding to increase the fitment factor by 2.86 times.
If this happens, then the minimum salary of the employees can reach ₹ 51,480, and the pension can reach ₹ 25,740. But there are many challenges in this path. It is not necessary that the salary increases drastically only due to the high fitment factor. So, what is this fitment factor, and how does it affect the salary of the employees? Let us understand in detail.
How is the basic salary of the employees determined
The fitment factor is a coefficient that the government uses to increase the salary of the employees. Generally, the basic salary of the employees is calculated by multiplying the existing minimum salary by the fitment factor! However, this system is not equally applicable to the salaries of employees at all levels. In the 8th Pay Commission, employee organizations are demanding a fitment factor of 2.86.
If the government accepts this demand, then the salaries of employees can see a significant increase. But, to understand this in depth, we have to look at the fitment factor and salary hike implemented in the previous pay commissions.
Will the salary increase only by increasing the fitment factor
When the government implemented the 6th Pay Commission, a fitment factor of about 1.86 was approved. But, at that time, keeping inflation in mind, the salary of the employees increased by a record 54 percent! In contrast, a fitment factor of 2.57 was implemented in the 7th Pay Commission, but the minimum salary of the employees increased by only 14.2 percent.
This makes it clear that only an increase in the fitment factor does not lead to a big jump in the salary. Even if the government implements a fitment factor of 2.86 this time, it is not necessary that the basic salary of the employees also increases in the same proportion. Other economic factors also play an important role in this.
Apart from the fitment factor, these things also matter
The increase in the salary of employees does not depend only on the fitment factor. The government also considers many other important factors like inflation rate, performance of employees, economic condition of the country, and the burden on the government treasury. The experience of previous pay commissions shows that many times, despite the low fitment factor, employees have received a good salary hike considering inflation.
Therefore, this time too, employees should hope that the government will give a fair increase in their salary, keeping in mind all these aspects. The fitment factor is an important aspect, but it does not show the complete picture of salary increase.