This is indeed a good piece of news for government employees. In fact, the 7th Pay Commission is about to complete a decade by January 2026. This pay commission came into effect in the year 2016 and had raised the salaries and pensions of government employees to great heights. Now, all the government employees and pensioners have their eyes glued to the 8th Pay Commission.
They are looking for eagerly waiting for any announcement that relates to its formation and recommendations. The Seventh Pay Commission was constituted in February 2014. The implementation of that recommendation leads to the revision of salary and an increase in dearness allowance. As per tradition, there is created a new pay commission in every ten years, which reviews and adjusts the basic salary payable to the government employees.
However, until now, there has not been any official announcement regarding the 8th Pay Commission by the Central Government. But employee organizations and pensioners are now tightening their drums for demands. It is expected that the government may announce this in the 2025-26 budget. This is what is going to happen to the salary of the employees.
Seventh Pay Commission
Fitment factor is an important aspect of every pay commission. It is an essential determinant of salary and pension increase for employees. The factor fixed in the Seventh Pay Commission was 2.57, on the basis of which minimum wage increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000.
At that time, the employee organizations had demanded to increase it to 3.67, but it was never approved. The employee organizations are now hopeful for a fitment factor of 2.86 from the Eighth Pay Commission. Recently, Shiv Gopal Mishra Secretary of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NCMJ) brought attention of the government regarding this demand.
If fitment factor 2.86 is fixed, then there can be a not-so-small increase in the minimum salary of government employees. From if currently under Rs 18,000, their minimum salary can increase up to Rs 51,480. In addition, there are also considerable increases for pensions. The minimum pension could increase from Rs 9,000 to Rs 25,740. This decision concerning the fitment factor is bound to affect the financial conditions of millions of government employees and pensioners for the betterment of their lifestyle.
When will the 8th Pay Commission get into effect?
The National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), the overwhelming union to raise work-related issues of employees, has demanded the creation of the Eighth Pay Commission. In a memo submitted by the organization early July this year, it demanded that processes for the establishment of the commission be taken up sleuth-wise immediately. A similar request was made in 2024. Employee organisations raised the matter with the Finance Secretary this month also. He has insisted that the recommendations of the Eighth Pay Commission should be implemented on time to ensure smooth adjustment of salaries or pensions.
Not mentioned in the Union Budget
Provision for announcing the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission was expected in the Union Budget 2024-25 to be presented in July 2025. According to some media reports, it was expected that the announcement might be made during the budget session by the central government. But no announcement was made on this in the budget.
The Seventh Pay Commission is going to end in 2026, and that is why demands for the creation of a new pay commission become strong. Particularly, there is discussion on the fitment factor that influences the salary and pension. Such issues give enough belief to government employees and organizations that something is going to happen very soon from the part of the central government. Currently, employees are looking forward to having their issues taken into consideration and the process of creating the Eighth Pay Commission proceeding immediately.