8th Pay Commission Demand Raised With Finance Secretary, Time Apt For Announcement: Employee Forum

The time is apt for the announcement of the 8th Pay Commission, which is awaited by more than one crore central government employees and pensioners, according to Shiv Gopal Mishra, the secretary (staff side) of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery, or NC-JCM.

The NC-JCM serves as an official platform to resolve disputes between the government and employees through dialogue. The employee forum has already submitted two memorandums before the centre seeking the formation of the 8th Pay Commission.

Speaking to NDTV Profit, Mishra said he renewed the demand in a meeting with Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey last week. "We met the finance secretary 10 days ago and raised the demand again," he said on Friday.

"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," said Mishra, who is also the general secretary of the All India Railwaymen's Federation.

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 implementation of pay commission's recommendations comes at a significant cost to the exchequer. The 7th Pay Commission had added financial implications to the tune of Rs 1.02 lakh crore in fiscal 2017.

Mishra, on being asked about the finance secretary's response to the staff forum's demand for 8th Pay Commission, said that the secretary has heard the points raised by them. "The government will take a decision considering all the factors... we have appealed for the decision to be taken at the earliest," Mishra said.

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

Even as speculations grow over the 8th Pay Commission, there is no official word yet from the government on its likely formation.

As compared to the date of previous pay panel's formation, the announcement of 8th Pay Commission has been delayed. However, such a comparison should not be made as the 7th Pay Commission was announced as part of a pre-election budget, said senior bureaucrat TV Somanathan, while speaking to NDTV India in July. "What happened in 2014 was unusual," he said.

In the last Parliament session, convened in July for the passage of the Union Budget, queries related to the 8th Pay Commission were raised by lawmakers.

In written replies before the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, 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 believe that the government's response does not indicate that the 8th Pay Commission would not be formed. Since the last salary hike came into effect from Jan. 1, 2016, the next revision should be due on Jan. 1, 2026, they point out. "There is still much left time for the implementation of (8th Pay Commission)," a senior official of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers told NDTV Profit last month.

Mishra, citing the example of the recent rollout of Unified Pension Scheme, said the government has shown that it is sensitive to the concerns of employees. "What they have said in the parliament is that the proposal for 8th Pay Commission is not currently under consideration. This does not mean that the panel would not be formed or the salaries would not be revised. I am confident of hike in employees' wages from Jan. 1, 2026," he said.