8th Pay Commission: Clarity Awaited As JCM Meeting Likely Deferred, Say Unions

A key meeting of the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery—an official platform to resolve disputes between the central government and its staff—has likely been deferred to December, according to employee unions privy to the development. The meeting is expected to shed clarity on the formation of the 8th Pay Commission, they said.

The National Council of JCM, which is chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary and has several bureaucrats and employee union representatives as its members, was earlier expected to meet in November. However, the change in the secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training led to the meeting being postponed, two employee union leaders confirmed.

Vivek Joshi, who was the DoPT secretary, was repatriated to his cadre state Haryana through an order issued on Oct. 26. He took charge as the state's chief secretary in the first week of November.

The JCM meeting was set to be held this month. But the transfer of DoPT secretary led to the delay, according to a senior official of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers. They expect the meeting to now be held in the first or second week of December.

The meeting is expected to provide clarity on government's plan related to 8th Pay Commission, the senior Confederation member said, on condition of anonymity.

Shiv Gopal Mishra, the secretary, staff side of the NC-JCM, also said that the JCM meeting has been deferred due to the change in DoPT Secretary. "The meeting was due to happen in November, but it has likely been postponed since the incumbent DoPT Secretary got transferred," he told NDTV Profit.

Notably, senior IAS officer Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who is the Union Finance Secretary, has now also taken over as the DoPT secretary. The additional charge was issued to him through an order issued earlier this month.

On being asked whether the demand to form the 8th Pay Commission will be raised in the upcoming NC-JCM meeting, Mishra said, "We will certainly raise this matter. Some clarity should emerge in that meeting."

"We have already submitted two memorandums before the government, and we will be consistently raising our demand ahead."

The first memorandum was submitted to Rajiv Gauba, who was the Union Cabinet Secretary at the time of the presentation of the Union Budget in July, Mishra said. The second memorandum was submitted to his successor TV Somanathan, who took charge as the Cabinet Secretary on Aug. 30, he added.

According to Mishra, the time is apt for the announcement of 8th Pay Commission. "We met the Finance Secretary (Tuhin Kanta Pandey) earlier this month...We told him that India's GDP is advancing at a strong pace, all sectors are growing, and the overall economic conditions are upbeat. There is no reason why the 8th Pay Commission should not be formed now," he said.

Mishra also noted that he will demand a fitment factor of "not less than 2.86" once the 8th Pay Commission is formed. The fitment factor is the multiplication unit used for revising the basic salary of government employees.

Pay commissions are generally formed once in 10 years to revise the salaries and pensions of government staff and retirees, respectively. The last pay panel—7th Pay Commission—was formed in February 2014 and its recommendations were implemented from January 2016.

The formation of pay commissions is seen as the first step towards revising the salaries of government employees. The panels, after being constituted, hold deliberations with all stakeholders and submit their recommendations before the government.

The exercise has a significant fiscal burden, as the cumulative count of central government employees and pensioners exceeds one crore. The 7th Pay Commission had added financial implications to the tune of Rs 1.02 lakh crore in fiscal 2017.

So far, there is no official word from the government regarding the formation of 8th Pay Commission. In written replies before the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in July, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said there was no proposal currently under the government's consideration to constitute the pay panel.

"Two representations have been received for the constitution of the 8th Central Pay Commission in June 2024. No such proposal is under consideration of the government at present," the minister had stated.

Employee unions, however, believe that the government's statement in the Parliament does not indicate that the 8th Pay Commission will not be formed. "They have simply said that the proposal on 8th Pay Commission was not under consideration at that time. This does not mean that it will not be formed," Mishra said.

"As far as I know, no government can deny the salary hike after 10 years. The last revision came into effect on Jan. 1, 2016. I am confident that the next hike will come into effect from Jan 1. 2026," added Mishra, who is also the general secretary of the All India Railwaymen's Federation.