The staff side of National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), which will be at the forefront of negotiations with the 8th Pay Commission, is preparing to hold a key meeting next month. The drafting committee of the employee forum will be meeting in New Delhi on Feb. 25.
NC-JCM Staff Side Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra wrote to all members of the drafting committee on Jan. 20, asking them to assemble in the national capital on Feb. 25 to "discuss and decide about the process and modalities of drafting the memorandum".
The drafting committee members will be required to stay in Delhi for a week "for discussing and finalising our proposals on each topic", Mishra stated in the letter. This has raised speculation that the top employee forum will be finalising its demand related to fitment factor, or the multiplication unit used for salary and pension revision.
The last pay panel, which was the 7th Pay Commission, had recommended a fitment factor of 2.57. This raised the basic salaries and pensions by 2.57 times, or 157%. However, the effective hike was lower as the dearness allowance, which stood at 125% of the basic pay in 2016, was reset to zero.
As per the norms, the DA is reset to zero once the new pay commission is implemented. It is then subsequently revised every six months to offset the impact of inflation. Currently, the DA stands at 58% of the basic wage.
Calls For Fitment Factor Of 3.0
While the staff side of NC-JCM has refrained from officially airing its views on the fitment factor, a number of employee bodies have demanded a fitment factor that is higher than what was recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. Among them is Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO), which wrote to the NC-JCM in January, demanding "3.0" as the multiplication unit.
In its letter dated Jan. 7, FNPO said the fitment factor should be 3.0 for revising the salaries of employees bracketed under Levels 1-5, 3.05 for Levels 6-9, and 3.1 for Levels 10-12.
For employees in Levels 13 and 13-A, it has demanded a fitment factor of 3.05, and for those in Levels 14-15, it has sought 3.15. The same should be 3.2 for those in Level 16, followed by 3.25 for the apex scale or Level 17, it said.
Additionally, FNPO said in its letter that the demand should be raised for "a uniform annual increment of 5% at all levels".
As of now, it remains to be seen whether the staff side of NC-JCM accepts the suggestion, and formalises the demand for a fitment factor ranging from 3.0 to 3.25. This fitment factor would result in the minimum basic salary rising by 200% from Rs 18,000 to Rs 54,000, and the maximum basic wage rising from Rs 2,25,000 to Rs 7,31,300.
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