8th Pay Commission: Confident Of Wage Hike From January 2026, Says Railwaymen's Federation Chief

Even as the Centre is yet to constitute the 8th Pay Commission, All India Railwaymen's Federation General Secretary, Shiv Gopal Mishra, is "confident" that the wages of central government employees would be hiked with effect from Jan. 1, 2026.

"I am confident that the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented from January 2026. But if there is any delay, then I am sure that the government would pay arrears to the employees," Mishra told NDTV Profit.

The statement assumes significance as Mishra is the secretary (staff side) of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery, which is an official platform for dialogue between the government and its employees to resolve disputes.

"As the NC-JCM staff side secretary, I had written to the Union Cabinet Secretary requesting him that the government should form the 8th Pay Commission as the last pay panel was formed 10 years ago. They have assured us that they would look into our demand," Mishra said.

The employee forum has also held meetings with former Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, as well as his successor TV Somanathan, requesting them not to further delay the formation of the pay panel, he claimed.

During the Budget Session of the Parliament in July, the Ministry of Finance stated before the House that there is no proposal currently under 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," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 22.

According to Mishra, the employee forum is "not concerned" with what the government said in the Parliament. As seen recently, the Centre was reluctant to bring back the benefits of the Old Pension Scheme, but ultimately they paid heed to the employees' concerns and announced the Unified Pension Scheme that offers assured minimum pensions, he said.

Generally, pay commissions are formed once every 10 years by the Centre to revise the salaries of its employees. The 7th Pay Commission was formed by the then Manmohan Singh-led government on Feb. 28, 2014, and its recommendations were implemented from January 2016.

In an interview aired on July 25, TV Somanathan, who was then the finance secretary, told NDTV India that what happened in 2014 was "unusual" as the announcement was made as part of a pre-election budget. That was not the normal date for the announcement of the pay commission, he added.

On being asked about Somanathan's remark, Mishra said the date of implementation of the 8th Pay Commission is more important than the date of the panel's formation. "The employees should get their wage revision not later than 10 years after the last pay commission was implemented. So, it does not matter whether the pay commission is formed one year before or six months before the targeted date of implementation," he said.

Fitment factor is the multiplication unit recommended by the pay commission to revise the salary of employees. The 7th Pay Commission had recommended a fitment factor of 2.57, which led to the minimum salary rising to Rs 18,000.

Mishra said the employee forum will be seeking a higher fitment factor after the 8th Pay Commission gets announced. "When we will submit a memorandum before the panel, we will certainly be demanding a higher rate of multiplication than the last time."

According to the union leader, the wages of central government employees are eligible for revision even before the 8th Pay Commission is formed. As per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, the wages should be revised once the dearness allowance crosses 50% of the basic salary, he pointed out.

In March, the Centre increased the DA by 4%, which raised the overall DA from 46% to 50% of the basic pay. "This makes the wages of employees already eligible for revision," Mishra said.