8th Pay Commission: Salary, Pension, 5 Family Units & 64 Holidays, Reveals Key Demands – Breaking News & Live Updates Today

8th Pay Commission: Another major update is here for central government employees. The second meeting of the 8th Pay Commission took place in Delhi. It started on April 28th and wrapped up today, April 30th. On the very first day, the NC-JCM presented the demands of the employees to the Pay Commission.

Moreover, the 8th Pay Commission has recently updated its official website on April 29, extending the deadline for stakeholders to submit their suggestions to May 31. The earlier deadline of April 30 had caused the commission’s website to temporarily go offline. As a result, the commission decided to allow stakeholders additional time to engage in the consultation process.

On April 28th, the Standing Committee on the Staff Side (NC-JCM) provided a comprehensive list of demands during a meeting with the 8th Pay Commission in New Delhi. These demands included requests for the fitment factor, the restoration of the old pension scheme, and the encashment of EL 600. Let’s delve into the key demands that the Standing Committee on the Staff Side (NC-JCM) presented to the 8th Pay Commission.

Key demands put forth by the National Council JCM Staff Side to the Pay Commission include

Minimum Wage: The employee representatives have based their calculations on a family of five, including parents, using the average daily requirement of 3490 kilocalories as recommended by the ICMR. They have also included several items that are usually overlooked when determining the minimum wage. Consequently, they are advocating for a minimum wage of Rs 69,000, which accounts for necessary technical expenses and other costs.

Fitment factor: The proposal is to raise the minimum wage from Rs 18,000 to Rs 69,000, which represents 3.833 times the basic salary. This indicates that the basic salary should be adjusted according to a fitment factor of 3.833.

Merger of pay scales: The staff side has suggested merging pay scales to decrease the total number of scales, considering educational qualifications, required skills, experience, and exposure for each category. The 8th CPC may view this proposal favourably.

Five Promotions: In view of the inordinate delay in cadre review, the negative aspects of MACP, and the situation of stagnation, the Staff Side has proposed that, like Group A officers, five promotions should be given within a fixed timeframe during 30 years of service. If for any reason a promotion is not given within the proposed timeframe, ACP should be ensured in the promotion hierarchy, as per our proposal.

Allowances: The 8th Pay Commission demanded that all allowances be increased threefold. However, regarding HRA, CEA, and Risk Allowance, the arguments presented in our memorandum should be positively considered by the Commission. All allowances will be linked to the increase in DA (Dearness Allowance).

Leave: There should be no limit on the accumulation of EL (earned leave), and up to 600 days of EL can be encashable at the time of retirement. The facility for encashment of EL should also be provided during service. Proposals submitted by the staff regarding HPL, CL, etc. should be considered positively.

100% salary should be paid during the 365-day second spell of CCL (child care leave). Additionally, proposals should be recommended for paternity leave, menstrual leave, special leave for hysterectomy surgery, special leave for parents of children with mental or physical disabilities, parental care leave, and no deduction of half a day’s CL for late attendance of up to 120 minutes (2 hours) per month.

OPS: All NPS employees who joined after 2003 should be given the benefits of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Furthermore, employee contributions should be treated similarly to the GPF (General Provident Fund).

Parents should also be included in the family unit

An passionate and significant demand for social security is to increase the number of family units from three to five. Most notably, the demand now includes parents as part of the family unit. Furthermore, for the first time in the history of the Pay Commission, the disparity in unit values ​​for men and women has been eliminated, and each is proposed to receive one unit equally.

Demands of pensioners

The Staff Side stated that the 8th CPC cannot ignore existing pensioners, as they have spent 30 to 40 years in national service. Their pensions need to be revised, and the 8th CPC may recommend the concept of “One Rank One Pension” for civilian employees. Suggestions presented by the Staff Side regarding the restoration of commuted pension after 11 years, pension increases every five years, gratuity proposals, and pension/family pension rates, etc., could be considered positively.