8th Pay Commission: Along with starting the 8th Pay Commission at the earliest, it was demanded from the Central Government that interim relief be given to pensioners from January 1, 2019.
7th Pay Commission Latest News: Railway Senior Citizen Welfare Society (RSCWS) recently urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to implement the 8th Pay Commission from January 1, 2024. They argue that the rate of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) is expected to rise above 50% next year. In a memorandum to the Finance Ministry, the RSCWS explained the reasons for the need for a new pay commission for central government employees and pensioners.
Employees and pensioners are facing financial crisis
It was said in the memorandum that due to the long gap of 10 years between the Central Pay Commissions, the central employees and pensioners were facing financial crisis for the last 70 years. As per the memorandum, the Seventh Pay Commission (CPC) submitted its report in February 2017. The order to implement this was issued in July and August 2017 with the provision that the arrears of revised pay would be paid from January 1, 2016.
Fixed minimum wage at Rs 18,000 instead of Rs 26,000
The RSCWS said that the Seventh Pay Commission fixed the minimum pay at Rs 18,000 instead of Rs 26,000. Also the fitment factor was wrongly proposed as 2.57 instead of 3.15. Earlier, the 5th and 6th Pay Commission had recommended moving pay revision from the 10-year norm and linking it to the date DA/DR rises above 50%.
DA expected to cross 50% from January-2024
As per the recommendations of the last three Central Pay Commissions, pay revision should be done in future when DA / DR is 50% or more of the basic pay. There is a need to revise the pay structure to neutralize the effect of inflation. It was said in the memorandum that from January-2024 the rate of DA / DR is estimated to cross 50% or more. In this way pay and allowances and pension need to be revised from January, 2024.
Per capita income increased to 1.97 lakh in 2022-23
The memorandum said that dearness allowances and dearness relief do not give the expected relief against inflation. Nor do they keep pace with the increase in per capita income of the country. It was said in the memorandum that the Pay Commission takes about two years to submit its report. The government takes another year or more to consider and implement it. In such a situation, it is requested that the 8th Pay Commission should be started as soon as possible and interim relief should be given to the Central Government employees and pensioners from January 1, 2019. It was also said by RSCWS that the per capita income in the country was Rs 93,293 in 2015-16. Which has now increased to Rs 1.97 lakh in 2022-23.
What was the statement from the government?
Last year, the central government said that there might not be a need to set up another pay commission. Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chowdhary had said that no proposal to set up the Eighth Pay Commission is under consideration. The current DA of central government employees is 42% of the basic pay. It is expected to increase by 4% soon. Accordingly, at the end of 2024, the rate of DA / DR (DA / DR) can be around 50% or more.
