8th Pay Commission
The Union Cabinet has announced the 8th Pay Commission which will increase the salaries of the central government employees and allowances of the pensioners. This was done during a cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi. The announcement comes at a time when the 7th Pay Commission that was formed in 2016 will complete its term in 2026.
What is the Pay Commission?
The Pay Commission is a central government appointed panel, which is formed nearly every one or ten years. The primary responsibility is to redesign central civil liabilities of pay and pension for both serving and retired employees. Every commission has it special area of coverage, or Terms of Reference (TOR), and endeavors to make sure that employees compensation reflects economic factors and inflation.
The 8th Pay Commission will do so to continue with this tradition because it will be recommending the central governments employee’s wages, allowances and pensions as well as pensioner’s emoluments. The government has said that the appointment of the chairman of the commission and two members will occur shortly by the union minister of communications Ashwini Vaishnaw. It will also involve central and state governments as well as other stake holders as to come up with a detailed recomendations.
Who is Covered by the Pay Commission?
Pay Commission is limited to the central government employees and pensioners who are drawing their pay and pension from the Consolidated Fund of India the fund which represents the government’s revenues.
- Nevertheless, not all workers within government related positions are covered by the Pay Commission. For example:
- It may also be noted that employees of PSUs like Coal India Limited are excluded.
The Autonomous bodies and Gramin Dak Sevaks are also out of the purview of this Industrial relations Act.
This is not the case with PSU employees, the employees are parceled into different pay structure depending on the organization they belong.
Highlights of the 7th Pay Commission
The 7th Pay Commission brought out major reforms that affected the pay structure as well pension of the central government employees and pensioners. Here are some of the key updates:
Fitment Factor: Employee unions demanded fitment factor which is a multiplying factor for determination of salaries to be 3.68. However, the government authorized factor of 2.57 to be used.
This hike effected raised the minimum basic pay of the employees from ₹7,000 per month as proposed in the 6th Pay Commission to ₹18,000 per month.
Pension Adjustments: Minimum pensions have risen from ₹ 3,500 to ₹ 9,000 per month.
Maximum Pay and Pension: For its senior officials, the company has provided a monthly salary package of up to 250000 Rs.
The maximum pension was pegged at ₹1,25,000.
The change was very useful for central government employees and retirees to get more financial security services and to reflect more economic growth.
8th Pay Commission
Regarding the New 8th Pay Commission which is expected to start soon the employees and the pensioner shall have chances of getting updated scale structure pay. Although specifics have not been decided more of such proposals seem likely to be considered by the commission, including inflation, the state of the economy, and employees’ expectations.
It will remain instrumental in arriving at the recommendations that will be made after consultation. Public consultation from the central and state governments and other stakeholders will keep the proposals realistic.
Importance of the Pay Commission
The recommendation made by the Pay Commission is generic and therefore covers more than 49 lakh employees of the central government and around 65 lakh pensioners. These changes are necessary in order to keep the morale of the employees high, provide them with adequate wages, and compensate for their financial deficits during their retirement.
Through centralizing salaries, and pensions the Pay Commission assists in adjusting pay scales for government employees in order to correspond to the current economic conditions. It also has an important function in supporting he economy, as with an increase in the remuneration of employees, there is an increase in consumption and savings.
Conclusion
This formation of 8th Pay Commission is another move on the process of linking the pay and pensions of the central government employees and pensioners. As the millions of individuals depend on these revisions, one will expect much attention towards the commission recommendations. The anticipated outcomes, therefore, should be in line with the government’s ability to take care of its manpower as it as embraces the economic factors.
As it evolves, the central government workers and pensioners should seek solutions to the inflation, higher cost of living and quality financial lives.
