The 8th Pay Commission, whose formation received the Union Cabinet's nod last month, is expected to be formally set up this month, said a senior employee union leader who is part of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery.
"I am confident that the 8th Pay Commission will be set up in February. I don't think the constitution of the panel would be further delayed," said Shiv Gopal Mishra, secretary (staff side) of the NC-JCM, while speaking to NDTV Profit.
The NC-JCM, which comprises senior bureaucrats and recognised employee union leaders, is an official body to resolve all disputes between the central government and its employees through dialogue.
Mishra, who led a delegation of NC-JCM staff side members to meet Department of Personnel and Training Secretary Rachna Shah on Monday, believes the government would soon appoint the chairperson and members of the 8th Pay Commission.
The meeting with the DoPT Secretary was centred around the terms of reference for the 8th Pay Commission. During the discussion, the employee forum leaders demanded the immediate merger of dearness allowance with basic pay, and amalgamation of unviable pay scale levels.
Also Read: 8th Pay Commission: Merge DA With Basic Salary, Combine Unviable Pay Scales, NC-JCM Tells DoPT
Deliberations Expected Soon
The 8th Pay Commission, soon after its formation, should hold deliberations with all stakeholders to arrive at the fitment factor and other modalities for the revision of salaries of central government employees and pensions of retirees, said Mishra, who is also the general secretary of the All India Railwaymen's Federation.
Since its formation has already been delayed, the 8th Pay Commission is likely to swiftly initiate the process of deliberations once it gets constituted, he added.
The stakeholders whom the panel would be meeting includes NC-JCM, central trade unions, and various recognised and unrecognised employee forums. The input taken from the stakeholders is formally recorded by the commission.
The 7th Pay Commission, notably, had visited remote areas like the border regions of Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, and to distant parts of the country, such as the northeastern region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to gather inputs.
The panel had also visited metro cities with significant presence of central government employees, such as Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Kolkata.
To capture the global best practices, the 7th Pay Commission had also held interactions with the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The local country office of the World Bank was also requested by the panel to provide inputs on best global practices in remuneration.
The 7th Pay Commission, after its formation in 2014, had taken a total of 18 months to submit its report to the government. The proposals were scrutinised and approved by the Centre after another six months. The revised salaries were finally rolled out from July 2016, but employees were provided arrears for six months as the effective date of implementation was Jan. 1, 2016.
Two NC-JCM members who spoke earlier with NDTV Profit indicated that employees should expect arrears this time as well, as the 8th Pay Commission may seek time beyond January 2026 to submit its report.
"The 8th Pay Commission may take more time to submit its report, but the government should retrospectively implement the report from January 2026," M Raghavaiah, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen and NC-JCM (staff side) leader, had said.
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