8th Pay Commission: Terms Likely To Be Set Soon, Say Stakeholders Amid Delay In Panel Formation

The Terms of Reference for 8th Pay Commission is likely to be approved soon by the central government, key stakeholders said, adding that they would accordingly formulate their various demands, including those related to fitment factor and minimum wages.

"We expect the Terms of Reference to get the government's nod soon. It should be approved at the earliest," said Shiv Gopal Mishra, secretary, staff side of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery, during a conversation with ndtvprofit.com.

Another NC-JCM member, on the condition of anonymity, also said that the terms for the 8th Pay Commission are expected to be cleared soon.

Notably, the NC-JCM is an official body comprising bureaucrats and employee union leaders, and its purpose is to resolve all disputes between the central government and its employees through dialogue.

The Centre had sought views from the staff side of NC-JCM on the Terms of Reference, or ToR, for the 8th Pay Commission in January. Accordingly, the employee forum had forwarded its draft ToR to the government.

In the draft document, the staff side of NC-JCM stressed that the minimum salary should be determined on the basis of considering the consumption need of "five units", instead of three at present.

Under the 7th Pay Commission, the minimum wage was determined by considering the consumption need of three units, with the earning husband of the family counted as one unit, wife as 0.8 unit and two children as 0.6 units each. This was in accordance to the norms laid down by the 15th Indian Labour Conference in 1957.

Mishra, however, is of the view that this methodology is incorrect as the consumption needs of aging parents also needs to be taken into an account. Taking care of parents, apart from being an ethical duty, is also a legal responsibility under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents And Senior Citizen Act 2022, he pointed out.

The staff side of NC-JCM has also called for the merger of unviable pay scales to prevent pay stagnation, which indirectly affects the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme. It has sought the merger of pay scale level 1 with level 2, level 3 with level 4, and level 5 with level 6.

In its recommendations for the ToR, the employee forum also demanded the restoration of the commuted portion of the pension after 12 years, and called for the "recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on enhancement of pension after every five years."

Another long-standing demand of the forum has been the merger of 50% of dearness allowance with the basic salary. Under the 5th Pay Commission, the rule was to merge the DA into basic pay once it crosses the 50% mark. However, this rule was discontinued under the 6th and 7th Pay Commissions.

Currently, the DA stands at 55% of the basic pay, following the last upward revision of 2% announced in March.

Notably, the decision to form the 8th Pay Commission was approved by the Union Cabinet in January. The panel, however, is yet to be formally set up.

Pay commissions are generally formed once in 10 years to recommend the fitment factor and other modalities for the revision of salaries of government employees, and the pensions of retirees.