8th Pay Commission To Be Swapped With Another Salary Revision System? Unions Say It's Possible

After the Ministry of Finance clarified in the Parliament that the formation of 8th Pay Commission is "presently not under consideration", speculations are rife whether the government can swap the constitution of pay panels with some other mechanism to revise the salaries of its employees.

Employee union leaders who spoke to NDTV Profit said there is a "possibility" that the government may come up with a new method to increase the base salaries of central government employees and pensions of retirees — which were last revised in 2016.

"I still believe that the 8th Pay Commission is the best route to revise the wages. But, yes, it is possible that the government may come with up another (mechanism)," said Shiv Gopal Mishra, secretary, staff side of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery or NC-JCM.

The NC-JCM, which comprises bureaucrats and employee union representatives, is headed by the Union Cabinet Secretary. It serves as an official platform to resolve all disputes between the government and its staff.

"If the government has any other plan for salary revision, then they should hold discussion with us. For that, the NC-JCM meeting should be held, and things should be made clear to us," said Mishra, who is also the secretary general of the All India Railwaymen's Federation. "However, our demand is still firm for the constitution of 8th Pay Commission."

The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, a leading staff forum, has also not ruled out the possibility of the government coming up with another salary revision mechanism, in place of the 8th Pay Commission.

If there is no announcement related to the pay commission in the Union Budget for fiscal 2026, then this "could be a possibility", Rupak Sarkar, the president of the Confederation said, while speaking to NDTV Profit. "We are not in a position to comment as of now, but we hope that things will get mostly clear in the upcoming NC-JCM meeting."

The NC-JCM meeting, which was earlier scheduled to be held in November, was deferred following the transfer of the secretary of Department of Personnel and Training last month. The employee unions now expect the meeting to be held in December.

Pay commissions are generally formed once in 10 years by the Centre for the revision of salaries and pensions. The last pay panel—the 7th Pay Commission—was formed in February 2014, nearly two years before its recommendations were implemented in January 2016.

Since the start of 2024, there were expectations that an announcement related to the 8th Pay Commission could be made. However, the government has issued multiple clarifications in the Parliament over the last five months, stating that it is not presently considering any such proposal.

The first clarification came in July, when Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that two representations related to 8th Pay Commission were received, but the government was not presently considering the proposal.

The MoS Finance reiterated the government's view on Wednesday, in response to fresh queries on 8th Pay Commission raised in the Rajya Sabha.

"No such proposal is under consideration with the government for constitution of Eighth Central Pay Commission for the central government employees, at present," Chaudhary stated in a written reply.