8th Pay Commission Update: Discussions regarding the 8th Pay Commission for central government employees and pensioners are gaining momentum. This time, employee organizations are presenting their demands more forcefully than ever before. Inflation, rising household expenses, and long delays in salary increases have fueled discontent among employees. Employees argue that only a marginal salary increase will not improve their real income, and therefore, the largest ever salary and pension increase in history is now necessary.
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Employees’ Demand for Fitment Factor
The biggest demand of employee organizations is to increase the fitment factor from the current 3.0 to 3.25. The Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) has put forward this proposal. If the government approves it, the minimum basic salary could increase from ₹18,000 to approximately ₹58,500. Along with this, employees are demanding an annual salary increment of 5 percent. Unions believe that the current salary structure has become inadequate compared to inflation and needs to be revised accordingly.
Demand for a Graded Fitment Structure
This time, employee organizations want a graded fitment structure instead of a uniform fitment factor. According to the proposal, a fitment factor of 3.0 should be set for Levels 1 to 5, 3.05 to 3.10 for Levels 6 to 12, 3.15 for Levels 14-15, and 3.25 for the highest Levels 17-18. Employees say that this will maintain balance in the salaries of junior and senior employees and eliminate long-standing anomalies.
Comparison with the 7th Pay Commission
In the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor was 2.57, which resulted in a minimum salary of ₹18,000. At that time, this increase was considered satisfactory, but inflation has completely eroded the value of that increase. Employee organizations say that the 8th Pay Commission should make decisions keeping in mind the current economic conditions and future needs.
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Nationwide Strike Announced
Employee organizations have announced a one-day nationwide strike on February 12, 2026, to increase pressure on the government regarding their demands. The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers has also submitted a formal notice to the Cabinet Secretary in this regard. The employees say that if their demands are not considered seriously, the agitation will be intensified. This strike will be held over issues related to salaries, pensions, service conditions, and labor reforms.
Other Key Demands of the Employees
The employees’ long list of demands includes merging 50 percent of the Dearness Allowance (DA) with the basic pay, providing a 20 percent interim relief from January 1, 2026, abolishing the NPS/UPS and restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), payment of the 18 months of DA frozen during the COVID-19 pandemic, early restoration of commuted pension, filling vacant posts, and ending the contract system. In addition, increasing the minimum pension to ₹9,000, removing GST from essential commodities, and opposing privatization are also among their major demands.