Millions of central government employees and pensioners are eagerly waiting for the finalisation and implementation of the 8th Pay Commission, which aims to revise salaries and pensions.
Set up in January, the Commission will assess factors such as inflation and cost of living, and come up with recommendations for the new salary structure.
With this move, more than 50 lakh central government employees and around 65 lakh pensioners are expected to receive arrears once the new pay structure is implemented. As a result, speculations continue to emerge about the likely salary hikes, fitment factor and overall financial impact of the 8th Pay Commission recommendations.
Currently, central government employees and pensioners are paid according to the 7th Pay Commission. Under this, the minimum basic pay for employees is Rs 18,000, while pensioners receive a minimum basic pension of Rs 9,000.
The revision to these structures would be based on a number of factors, including the key fitment factor. This is a key aspect of salary revision, which multiplies the current basic pay to calculate the new salary.
For the 8th Pay Commission, multiple reports suggest that the fitment factor could range from 1.92 to 2.86, with some sources indicating it may be around 2.
What Does Fitment Factor 2 Mean?
Under the 7th Pay Commission, the salaries were revised based on the proposed fitment factor of 2.57. In the 6th Pay Commission, the starting salary for entry-level central government employees was Rs 7,000. The 7th Pay Commission applied a fitment factor of 2.57 to this minimum salary. The multiplication of both figures resulted in a new starting salary of Rs 18,000.
Similarly, a fitment factor of 2 would mean multiplying the starting salaries of different levels in the 7th Pay Commission to determine the new salaries. As a result, the entry-level salaries would be revised to (Rs 18,000x 2) Rs 36,000. Similarly, the new minimum basic pension for pensioners would become Rs 18,000.
To be clear, this Rs 18,000 starting salary under the 7th Pay Commission applies only to entry-level employees at the lowest pay grade. Higher officials come under high pay grades and will receive correspondingly higher revised salaries. If a fitment factor of 2 is applied, the minimum basic salary would double over the current entry-level pay for central government employees.
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