Govt Employees’ Union Urges PM To Set Up 8th Pay Commission, Calls For 5-Year Wage Revision

The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint the 8th Central Pay Commission on an urgent basis to address the concerns of central government employees and pensioners. The organisation represents around 700,000 employees across various government departments and has around 130 affiliated associations and federations. 

The confederation reported that central government employees’ wages were last revised in 2016, and as of July 1, 2024, the percentage of dearness allowance (DA) entitlement has surpassed 53 per cent. The confederation attributed the erosion of the real value of wages to the Covid-19 pandemic and the devaluation of money over time. 

Pay For Central Government Employees Must Be Revised Every 5 Years 

The confederation has called for a five-year wage revision for central government employees to attract the best talent and ensure good leadership and governance.  

It said that the government should revise the pay scale on a periodic basis to ensure that employees are able to live comfortably and work effectively for the implementation of various government programs and policies. The wage revision is due on January 1, 2026, as a new pay commission is set up every 10 years to revise pension and salary for over 10 million central government employees.  

The confederation said that the previous pay commissions have usually taken two years to submit their reports and it takes the government another six months or more to consider and implement the recommendations. 

“It is high time that the 8th Central Pay Commission is constituted. Hence, the confederation requests that the 8th Central Pay Commission is constituted without any further delay, necessitated due to higher inflation levels and depreciation in money value, so that the central government employees and pensioners could lead a decent life and work more effectively to implement the programmes and policies of the central government, so that its benefits reaches the common man,” the commission said in a statement. 

Incidentally, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had recently informed Rajya Sabha that the government has no plans to establish a new pay commission.