The National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery, an official forum comprising employee union leaders and bureaucrats, wrote a strongly worded letter to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan over the “continued delay” in the formation of 8th Pay Commission.
NC-JCM Staff Side Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra, in the letter, pointed out that the terms of reference for the 8th Pay Commission have not been circulated despite the inputs being sought from the employee forum back in January.
“Despite the submission of suggestions and the conduct of a preliminary meeting to discuss the matter, no further communication has been received from the government in this regard. The continued delay in the formal issuance of the ToRs has led to widespread speculation and uncertainty among central government employees and pensioners alike,” Mishra stated.
The ToR serves as the framework for the pay panel, which will hold deliberations with various stakeholders before recommending the fitment factor and other modalities for the revision of salaries of central government employees.
The 8th Pay Commission is expected to be formally set up after the ToR is approved by the Union government. NC-JCM staff side members who spoke to NDTV Profit last month said they expected the terms to be cleared soon but refrained from sharing an estimated timeline.
‘Apprehensions Growing’
Pay commissions are generally formed once in 10 years to revise the salaries of government staff and pensions paid to the retirees. Since the last panel — the 7th Pay Commission — came into effect from Jan. 1, 2016, it was expected that the next pay commission would come into effect from 2026.
While the government confirmed that it would be forming the 8th Pay Commission in an announcement in January this year, the panel is yet to be formally set up.
“In the absence of clear and timely communication, apprehensions are growing among employees about the credibility of the announcement regarding the setting up of the 8th CPC. Many fear whether this move is a genuine administrative initiative or otherwise,” Mishra stated in the letter to the cabinet secretary.
The employee forum chief added that the government should “issue clear and widely circulated guidelines on the finalised ToR” and constitute the “8th Central Pay Commission committee at the earliest”.
“A prompt and favourable decision in this regard will go a long way in boosting the morale of employees and pensioners alike, and in reaffirming the government’s commitment to a fair and inclusive pay policy,” added Mishra, who is also the general secretary of the All India Railwaymen’s Federation.