A memorandum submitted to the 8th Pay Commission by the Staff Side of the National Council (Joint Consultative Machinery – NC-JCM) has sought a minimum wage of Rs 69,000 for central government employees. The demand is not confined to securing a larger fitment factor; it also reflects calls for a fundamental change in the way state salaries are assessed and revised.
The push for a minimum salary of Rs 69,000 is rooted in a significant revision of the family model traditionally used for pay calculations.
The Staff Side has argued for replacing the earlier three-unit family framework with a broader five-unit system covering the employee, spouse, two children and dependent parents.
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Its breakdown is listed below:
- Employee: 1 unit
- Spouse: 1 unit
- Two children: 0.8 units each
- Dependent parents: 0.8 units
According to the memorandum, the suggested change is intended to reflect the financial realities faced by many government workers who support elderly parents alongside their spouse and children. It also points out that such duties are recognised under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act.
“Minimum Pay must be based on a scientific living wage formula covering Food, Housing, Education, Health Care, Transport and the Technological / Digital Needs. The Present system of treating a family as 3 Units should be dispensed with and the Family should be treated as 5 Units (employee 1 Unit, Spouse 1 Unit (No Gender Discrimination), 2 Children, 0.8 Units each of the parents 0.8 Units. This works out to a total of 5.2 Units (Rounded off to 5 Units),” the memorandum reads.
The proposed Rs 69,000 minimum pay has been derived from a “living wage” calculation built around the updated five-unit family structure. The methodology covers expenditure on nutrition, accommodation, electricity and water, education, recreation, social functions and digital connectivity.
The memorandum underlined that government pay should enable employees to live with dignity while maintaining professional efficiency and productivity.
One of the key reasons behind the higher wage projection is the proposed update in nutritional standards. Unlike earlier pay commissions that used a benchmark of 2,700 calories, the latest proposal adopts the Indian Council of Medical Research's recommendation of roughly 3,490 calories, especially for employees involved in physically strenuous work.
The Staff Side has suggested a fitment factor of 3.83 while calculating revised salaries and pensions on the basis of a Rs 69,000 minimum pay. Such a move would considerably exceed the 7th Pay Commission's 2.57 benchmark and pave the way for substantial pay hikes at multiple levels.
Countering claims that increased salaries would overstretch the exchequer, the Staff Side argued that pay-related spending accounts for only about 13% of the Union Government's revenue expenditure.
The memorandum maintained that higher incomes for employees would boost consumption, support economic activity and ultimately lead to greater tax collections. It described wage revisions as a catalyst for economic growth and human capital creation instead of merely an added cost.
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