8th Pay Commission: 'Aware Of Resentment Among Employees?' Opposition MPs Question Government

Three Opposition lawmakers in the Lok Sabha questioned the government on Monday over the non-formation of 8th Pay Commission, despite a decade after the last pay panel — the 7th Pay Commission — was formed.

Congress MPs Jai Prakash and Ve Vaithilingam, and Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria asked the Ministry of Finance to disclose whether it was aware of the "resentment" among employees over no announcement being made by the government yet on the constitution of 8th Pay Commission.

The question from the three lawmakers comes nearly a week after the finance ministry told the Rajya Sabha that there was no proposal presently under consideration to form the 8th Pay Commission.

Pay commissions are generally formed once in 10 years to revise the salary of central government employees. The 7th Pay Commission was constituted by the then Manmohan Singh-led government on Feb. 28, 2014 and its recommendations came into effect from Jan. 1, 2016. The financial implication of the move was estimated at Rs 1.02 lakh crore in fiscal 2017.

The Lok Sabha MPs, in their written questions jointly submitted before the finance ministry, asked "whether the government is aware of resentment among central government employees for not constituting the 8th CPC (Central Pay Commission) and if so, the response of the government thereto."

They asked the finance ministry to explain the "reasons for not constituting 8th CPC so far, even after more than 10 years of Constitution of 7th CPC and ignoring the unprecedented price rise/cost of living and plights of employees."

Furthermore, the lawmakers asked if the government is finally considering to constitute the 8th Pay Commission for employees and armed forces. "If so, the time by which it is announced?" they questioned.

In a combined response to these queries, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary reiterated that there was no proposal on the pay panel's constitution presently under consideration.

"No such proposal is under consideration with the Government for constitution of Eighth Central Pay Commission for the Central Government employees, at present," the MoS Finance said, repeating the answer he submitted before queries on the subject raised in the Rajya Sabha last week.

Notably, the government had similarly clarified in July, during the Budget session of the Parliament, that there was no consideration at the moment to constitute the 8th Pay Commission.

The government's fresh clarification has dashed the hopes of the employee forums, who have been requesting the government to form the pay commission at the earliest.

"We have already submitted two memorandums before the government. We have also raised this demand with officials several times. I don't see any reason why the 8th Pay Commission should not be formed at the earliest," Shiv Gopal Mishra, the secretary general of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery, told NDTV Profit last month.

The NC-JCM, which is headed by the Union Cabinet Secretary, serves as an official platform to resolve all disputes between the government and its staff. As reported by NDTV Profit last month, the employee forums are hopeful of clarity on the 8th Pay Commission in the NC-JCM meeting expected to be held in December.

"Things will mostly be clear in that meeting. It should be held in December," a senior official of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers said.

The formation of pay commissions are viewed as the first step towards the revision of basic salaries of government employees and pensions of retirees. After constitution, the pay commissions are tasked with meeting all stakeholders to determine the fitment factor and other mechanisms to revise the wages, pensions and allowances.