8th Pay Commission: Will Fitment Factor For Salary Revision Be Higher Than 7th Pay Panel?

The centre's nod for the formation of 8th Pay Commission has initiated the lengthy process for the revision of salaries of central government employees, and the pensions of retirees.

The panel, which would comprise a chairman and two members, will be holding consultations with several stakeholders before submitting its recommendations.

Among the recommendations, the most watched out will be the fitment factor, which is the multiplication unit used for upward revision of salaries and pensions.

Will the fitment factor to be proposed by the 8th Pay Commission be higher than what the 7th Pay Commission had recommended?

In an earlier conversation with NDTV Profit, Shiv Gopal Mishra, who is the secretary (staff side) of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery, said the 8th Pay Commission should recommend a fitment factor "that is higher" than what the 7th Pay Commission had recommended.

Notably, the 7th Pay Commission had recommended a fitment factor of 2.57. This raised the minimum salary of central government employees to Rs 18,000 from Rs 7,000. Similarly, the minimum pensions rose from Rs 3,500 to Rs 9,000.

Considering the pace of inflation, "we certainly expect the fitment factor to be recommended by the 8th Pay Commission will be higher than what was recommended by the last pay commission," Mishra had said.

"We are looking at a fitment factor of 2.86 at least, considering that this kind of revision happens only once in 10 years. This is what we will demand after the 8th Pay Commission is formed," Mishra, who is also the secretary of All India Railwaymen's Federation, told NDTV Profit before the government's announcement of the pay panel.

If 2.86 is recommended as the fitment factor by the 8th Pay Commission, then the minimum salary of employees can rise from Rs 18,000 to Rs 51,480. Similarly, the pensions could rise from Rs 9,000 to Rs 25,740.

Some of the industry experts also say that the fitment factor could be higher than what the last pay panel had proposed. “For the 8th Pay Commission, a fitment factor between 2.6 and 2.85 is speculated,” news agency IANS quoted Neeti Sharma, the chief executive officer of TeamLease Digital, as saying.

Notably, the 7th Pay Commission had relied on "Dr. Aykroyd's' formula", which is linked to 20th century American nutritionist Wallace R. Aykroyd, to determine a minimum living wage of Rs 18,000. The formula took into consideration the increase in prices of various commodities that constitute a common man’s basket, which is reviewed periodically by the Labour Bureau in Shimla.

The minimum salary paid to central government employees is not the same since 2016, as dearness allowance has been raised consistently to offset the impact of inflation. Following the last DA hike in October, the allowance stood at 53% of the basic pay.