8th Pay Commission: Fitment factor may be different from Level 1 to 18?

New Delhi. Regarding the Eighth Pay Commission, the biggest discussion among government employees is about the fitment factor. Every employee wants to know how much his basic salary will increase after the new recommendations. Experts believe that this time the method of calculating and applying the fitment factor may be different from last time.

What is fitment factor?

There is a kind of ‘multiplier’ or coefficient that is used to modify the basic pay and pension of government employees and pensioners.

Its direct formula is:

Revised Basic Pay = Current Basic Pay × Fitment Factor

2.5 Potential impact on fitment factor

If a coefficient of 2.5 is applied to the basic salary of Rs 18,000, the new basic salary can reach around Rs 45,000. Apart from this, HRA, transport allowance and other allowances will be given separately, which will further increase the total salary.

3.2fitment factorWhy the demand?

Some representatives of employee organizations, including Manjit Singh Patel, are demanding a fitment factor of 3.2. He says that this is necessary to bridge the gap between current salary and inflation. If 3.2 is implemented then the basic salary of entry level can reach around Rs 57 to 58 thousand.

Is it the same factor at all levels?

There is a possibility that the same fitment factor may not be applied at all the 18 levels of the pay matrix. Higher coefficients can be set for lower level employees (1 to 5) and different rates for upper level employees, so that the pay gap can be reduced. This may provide relatively more relief to employees receiving initial salary.

What’s next for employees?

Now eyes are on the upcoming meetings of the Commission. Representatives of various organizations can present their demands in detail in the proposed meeting on 25th February. Only after the final recommendations will it be clear how much is the fitment factor decided and what will be the actual increase in the salary of the employees. At present, it is certain that the fitment factor will become the most important basis of the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission and this will determine the possible change in the income of lakhs of employees.