After the announcement of the 8th Central Pay Commission in January 2024 by the central government, discussions are still going on in the government regarding its Terms of Reference (ToR) and the appointment of key members.
The draft proposed in February this year by the Staff Side of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) indicated which employees can get the benefit of the new pay commission. The NC-JCM is a platform for dialogue between the government and its employees, specifically concerning matters of common interest and employee welfare.
Apart from this suggestion, there were 14 other recommendations submitted by the NC-JCM for the 8th Pay Commission. The Staff Side of the NC-JCM wants the following categories of employees to be covered under the new pay panel:
- Industrial and non-industrial employees of the Central Government
- Employees of All India Services
- Defence forces and paramilitary forces personnel
- Gramin Dak Sevaks
- Employees of Union Territories
- Officers and employees of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department
- Officers and employees of the Supreme Court
- Members of regulatory bodies constituted by Parliament (except RBI)
- Employees of autonomous bodies and institutions of the Central Government
The NC-JCM believes that if all these categories are brought under the purview of the Pay Commission, it will benefit the wider workforce and also ensure equality.
Employees, pensioners are unhappy with the delay in ToR and Commission formation
Although it has been more than six months since the announcement of the Commission, neither its terms of reference have been finalised nor its chairman and members have been appointed. This has caused resentment and anxiety among over 1.2 crore central government employees and pensioners.
There is no clarity so far on the government’s part to state when the ToRs will be finalised and what the structure of the commission will be. The limited response the finance ministry has so far issued on the matter was recently made during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said that the government has received suggestions from the Staff Side of NC-JCM, as part of stakeholder consultation.
He further said that inputs have been sought from major stakeholders, including the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Personnel & Training, and states.
What is the work of the Pay Commission, and when is the salary revision implemented?
A Pay Commission is constituted in India every 10 years, which reviews the salary, allowances, pension, and other benefits of government employees. This commission submits its report to the central government, based on which the new salary structure is implemented.
Generally, after the formation of the commission, it takes 12-18 months to prepare the report. Then its recommendations are approved by the cabinet and the date of implementation is considered to be the previous 1 January. For example, the 7th Pay Commission came into effect from 1 January 2016.
Other NC-JCM suggestions: Recommendations for changes in salary, pension, dearness allowance and minimum wage
Among its other demands, NC-JCM has also made several recommendations, like fixing the minimum wage in line with the “respectable standard of living”, restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS), removal of defects in the MACP scheme, interim relief, and merging dearness allowance into salary. The council says that these issues should be specifically included in the ToR of the new pay commission.
Summing up…
Even though the government has announced the 8th Pay Commission, the slowness seen in its process so far remains a cause of concern for employees and pensioners. The draft ToR indicates that its scope may be wide, but until the government officially confirms it, uncertainty will remain.
