The Centre does not plan to constitute the 8th Pay Commission any time soon, the Finance Ministry said. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, clarified that the government is not considering any proposal to form the 8th Pay Commission.
“No such proposal is under consideration by the government for the constitution of the Eighth Central Pay Commission for the Central Government employees at present,” the Finance Ministry said. Currently, the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission are in effect.
Rajya Sabha members and Samajwadi Party leaders Javed Ali Khan and Ramji Lal Suman questioned the government on the formation of the 8th Pay Commission. They further asked whether the fiscal condition of the Union is preventing an increase in the salaries of central government employees.
The government appoints a pay commission to review and recommend changes to the salary structure of government employees, taking into account factors such as inflation, the state of the economy, income disparities, and related factors. In addition to basic pay, the commission reviews bonuses, perks, allowances, and other benefits provided to government employees.
Since 1946, the government has established seven pay commissions. Currently, the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, formed in 2014 by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, are being followed. The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission were implemented on 1 January 2016. According to official data, the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations were expected to cover over 1 crore employees, which includes over 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners.
As per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, the minimum pay for an entry-level recruit will be ₹18,000 per month, whereas the minimum pay for a new Class I officer is ₹56,100 per month. The Commission recommended increasing the maximum salary of government employees to ₹2.5 lakh for top-level employees, such as Cabinet Secretaries and similar posts.
The rate of annual increment remains unchanged at 3%, as per the 7th Pay Commission pay matrix. The upper limit of gratuity was increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh.
A health insurance scheme was introduced for central government employees and pensioners.
Employees bodies demand the constitution of the 8th CPC
Meanwhile, following the government reply, the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers on Thursday demanded the constitution of the 8th Central Pay Commission, which they said is necessary because of rising inflation and depreciating value of the rupee.
The Confederation, which represents about 7 lakh central government employees working in various departments like postal, income tax, AG’s, audit departments, survey departments, census, GSI, CPWD, CGHS, etc., is an umbrella body of 130 associations and federations that are affiliated to it.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the employees’ body said that central government employees’ wages were last revised on January 01, 2016, as on July 07, 2024, the percentage of DA entitlement crossed over 53%.
“After the pandemic situation, the prices of essential commodities and also the non-essential commodities have increased manifold, including manufacturing industries, construction, health, the service sector, etc. The higher interest rates are also adversely affecting employees/pensioners; the inflation is in the range of 4% to 7%, and on average, it is about 5.5%. Due to higher inflation rates, the real money value has gone down considerably in the past 9 years, especially after the Covid situation”, the letter said.
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