The 7th pay commission has been around for years and government employees have been getting their salaries and other perks, according to it. However, talk is increasingly turning to the 8th pay commission and giving it a lot of momentum is the new proposal received by the government. Considering that inflation has been high, maintaining a certain lifestyle has become tougher and the demand for a revision in salaries across the board for government employees is now being proposed as a solution. The 7th pay commission and the earlier ones had been created with the same purpose in mind.
However, the big thing to note is that when the 7th pay commission was implemented, there was much talk about it becoming the last pay commission that the government would create. In fact, in 2022, when talk of a new pay commission had acquired a lot of substance, the government, in its reply in the Lok Sabha had said, that it is not considering setting up 8th Pay Commission for central government employees. This was stated by the then Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in August, 2022.
However, the talk surrounding the 8th pay commission has been revived due to a letter from the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) written to the Cabinet Secretary, Government of India. The 8th Pay Commission’s tasks, if it is set up, will be to see if there really is a case for revising central government employees’ salary and other benefits. The letter is requesting the the constitution of the 8th pay commission.
Needless to say, central government employees would be eager to see the setting up of the commission as a pay commission does end up examining various issues involved and then deciding about a pay hike for the concerned. Not just central, later on even state government employees can get the benefit of the 8th pay commission.
Ideally a new pay commission is expected to be set up after a decade of the implementation of the previous one. 7th pay commission recommendations were implemented from January 2016.
Read the Full letter from AIRF demanding the immediate constitution of the 8th pay commission below
No.NC·JCM-2024/Stn CPC
The Cabinet Secretary,
Government of India,
&
Chairman,
Sub:- Immediate constitution of 8 Central Pay Commission for revising the pay / allowances / Pension and other benefits of
Central Government Employees
Respected
The 7th Central Pay Commissions recommendations were implemented by the Government w.e.f. 01.01.2016. However, the demand of the Staff Side to the 7v- CPC and subsequently to the Government of India for revising the minimum pay Rs. 26,000/- per month as on 01.01.2016 calculated on the basis of the various components of the ILC norms and Dr. Aykroyd Formula
etc. We have also submitted before the ]ti CPC that the minimum pay proposed by the Staff Side of National Council (JCM) is still on the lower side. Unfortunately all our arguments were rejected by the 7tn CPC without any basis and recommended for Rs. 18,000/- as minimum pay w.e.f. 01.01.2016.
While the Staff Side demanded that the Fitment Factor should be 3.68%, the 7 th CPC recommended only for 2.57% which the Government straightaway agreed without holding any negotiation with the Staff Side which usually takes place. Aggrieved by the adverse recommendations of the 71J1 CPC and the acceptance of the same by the Government without holding any discussion
with the Staff Side and without considering the proposals given by the Staff Side, the constituent organizations of the National Council (JCM) served a Strike Notice on the Government demanding for revision of minimum pay and Fltment Factor. The Government constituted a Committee of Ministers to negotiate with the Staff Side under the Chairmanship of Shri. Rajnath Singh
Home Minister, Late Arun Jaitley the then Finance Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu the then Railway Minister, and Shrl Manoj Sinha the then State Railway Mlr lster after discussion the Government agreed that the demands of the Staff Side would be further discussed with them to reach an amicable settlement.
Based on the d:.surance given by the Committee of Ministers the indefinite strike was also postponed. Unfortunately no positive steps were taken by the Government to negotiate with the Staff Side and to Increase the minimum pay and the Fitment Factor.
Government Itself says that the inflation is in the range of 4 % to 7% on average it shall be about 5.5 0/o . The post covid the Inflation ls higher than pre covld levels .
If we compare the retail prices of essential commodities and goods which are required for daily life from 2016 to 2023 they have Increased by over 80 % as per the local market , but we are provided by only around 46 % Dearness
Allowance as on 1/7/2023 . Hence there is a gap between the actual price rise and DA provided to the employees and pensioners.
The Central Government revenue has also doubled from the year 2015 to 2023 as per the budget statements we can notice a considerable Increase In the revenue collection.
The Central Government’s actual revenue has Increased by over 100 % . Hence the Central Government has more paying capacity compared In the year 2016. The GST collection has also increased in April 2023 Rs 1.87 lakh crores has been collected. Income tax collections were highest In the year 2022-23 . The gross Personal Income Tax collection (including STT)
(provisional) in FY 2022-23 is at Rs. 9,60, 764 crore and has shown a growth of 24.23% over the preceding year India’s Indirect tax collections rose 7 .21 % in 2022-23 to lf 13.82 lakh crore from lf 12.89 lakh crore in the previous year. Source Central Board of
Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
The Budget estimate for the year 2023-24 revenue collection is expected to be Rs 33,60, 858 crores , Gross revenue in 2022-23 was Rs 30,43,067 crores .
After state share net Central Government actual revenue was Rs 20, 86,661 crores The staff strength of Central Government employees has decreased from the last decade with about 10 lakhs vacancies .The work pressure is on the existing employees.
The actual expenses for wages (salary) and allowances Is only 7.29% of the total revenue expenditure for the Central Government employees for the year 2020-21. In respect of Pensioners the actual expenses on pension is around 4% of the total revenue expenditure.
“1.22 It is also recommended that the matrix may be reviewed periodically without waiting for the long period of ten years. It can be reviewed and revised on the basis of the Aykroyd formula which takes into consideration the changes prices of the commodities that constitute a common man’s basket, which the Labour Bureau at Shim/a reviews periodically. It is suggested that this should be
made the basis for revision of that matrix periodically without waiting for another Pay Commission.”
The Government so far neither accepted the above recommendations nor constituted the 8th Central Pay Commission. DA of the Central Government Employees and Pensioners have already reached 50% w.e.f. 01.01.2024 the DA element will cross 50% considering the inflation and the price rise. It is also pertinent to mention here that more than 20 lakhs of Civilian Central Government Employees are governed under the National Pension System and every month they have to contribute 10% of their Basic Pay and DA to the NPS. This considerably reduce their take home pay. The Government have so far not agreed
to our demand to scrap NPS and to restore the Pension under CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021) to the Central Government Employees recruited on or after 01.01.2004.
Considering all the above aspects and today’s requirement of life and also to attract qualified and talented candidates to the Government service time has now come to immediately constitute the 8th Central Pay Commission and to revise the
Pay Scales / Allowances / Pension and other benefits of the Central Government Employees through mutual discussions and settlements. Therefore, the Staff Side demands that the Government of India may immediately constitute the 8th Central
Pay Commission.
With Kind Regards,
Sincerely yours,
~
(Shiva Gopal Mishra)
Secretary
7th pay commission recommendations decide the salaries of government employees. Now, demand has been raised to create the 8th pay commission. Personal Finance Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
