New Delhi: All central government employees and pensioners are now eagerly awaiting the 8th Pay Commission. A question lingers in everyone’s mind: when exactly will the 8th Pay Commission come into effect? On the other hand, even before the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission are implemented, there is also an eager anticipation regarding the release of the pending arrears of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR), which were withheld during the COVID-19 pandemic.
📢What employees are demanding
- Release of 18-month DA/DR arrears
- Early implementation of the 8th Pay Commission
- Unions have been continuously pressing since 2021
- No official response received yet
🏛️8th Pay Commission — latest update
- Commission flooded with union meeting requests
- Unions sought meetings around Apr 28 in Delhi
- Commission: cannot accommodate all due to time crunch
- Implementation timeline still unclear
In fact, the Central Government had frozen the DA and DR for a period of 18 months—that is, one and a half years—during the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, various central government employee organisations have been continuously demanding its release; however, no official announcement has been made regarding this matter so far.
A Long-Standing Demand
During the coronavirus outbreak, the economic machinery not only in India but across the entire world had faltered. This resulted in significant losses for all sections of society. In 2020, the Ministry of Finance clarified that, at that particular juncture, it was not feasible to release these pending payments. According to the Ministry, despite persistent requests from employees and pensioners for the settlement of these dues, there was no possibility of distributing the withheld DA and DR arrears.
The Government’s Stance
At that time, in light of the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19, the Central Government announced that the additional instalments of Dearness Allowance payable to employees—and Dearness Relief payable to pensioners—which had been pending since January 1, 2020, would not be paid.
Furthermore, the additional instalments of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief pending since July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, would also not be disbursed. This position was articulated by the government in 2020. Consequently, the government did not release the DA for the period spanning from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.
Central Employees Continue to Press Their Demands
It would be premature to predict at this stage exactly when the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented. However, a notice issued by the 8th Pay Commission on April 24 confirmed that the Commission has received a large number of requests from various unions and associations regarding meetings scheduled to be held in Delhi around April 28. According to the report, in view of the shortage of time and the overwhelming number of requests, the Commission stated that accommodating everyone during these dates would not be a feasible task.
