8th Pay Commission- 35 lakh central government employees and 67 lakh pensioners may have to wait a little longer for the 8th Pay Commission. Along with the discussion on how much increase the new pay commission will recommend in salary and pension, the possibility of delay in its implementation is also gaining momentum.

The recommendations of the Eighth Pay Commission are to be implemented from January 2026, but the government has not yet constituted the commission. Employee organizations have urged the government to constitute the commission as soon as possible so that the uncertainty in the minds of employees and pensioners is removed.

The recommendations of the 7th Commission came before the date of implementation

For central government employees and pensioners, a new pay commission is constituted every 10 years and its recommendations are implemented. The recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission were implemented in January 2016. That commission was constituted in February 2014 and it submitted its report on 19 November 2015. But this time, despite only six months remaining for implementation, neither the commission has been constituted nor its terms of reference have been decided. The commission takes one and a half to two years to give recommendations.

According to media reports, senior officials have said that these are under discussion, but given its slow pace, it is believed that it will not be possible to implement it from January 1, 2026. Even if the formation of the commission and its terms of reference are announced in the next few days, the history so far shows that every commission has taken one and a half to two years to give its recommendations. If the Eighth Pay Commission also continues at the same pace, then its recommendations will be implemented only at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027.

The question of fitment factor is the most important

The most important among the recommendations of the Pay Commission is the fitment factor. The new basic salary of an employee is determined by multiplying his old basic salary with the fitment factor. The Seventh Pay Commission had fixed the fitment factor at 2.57. Then the minimum salary increased from Rs 7000 to Rs 18000.

Employee organizations and other experts estimate that this time the fitment factor can be between 2.5 to 2.86. On this basis, the minimum salary will be between 40 thousand and 45 thousand rupees. If the fitment factor is fixed at 2.86, then the minimum basic salary will be 51 thousand rupees. At the time of the Sixth Pay Commission, the fitment factor was fixed at 1.86 and the basic salary increased from Rs 2,750 to Rs 7,000.