Summary of this article
The National Council (NC-JCM) Staff Side will meet on April 13 to finalise its memorandum of demands for the 8th Central Pay Commission.
Recently, the Employees' body also sent a letter to the 8th Pay Commission seeking a one-month extension to May 31, 2026.
The employees’ body has also requested a meeting with the Commission post-April 13, to discuss key pay and pension issues.
The National Council under the Joint Consultative Machinery’s (NC-JCM) Staff Side is scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss and finalise the final memorandum of demands related to the 8th Pay Commission. The deadline to submit the memorandum to the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) is April 30, 2026. However, the Staff Side of the NC-JCM has already sent a letter to the 8th CPC on April 1, 2026, requesting an extension of one month to May 30, 2026, for submission. They have said that the deadline is approaching, and to consult with other unions, employee associations, and federations across the country, they need more time.
In the same letter, the representative of the employees’ body (Staff Side) has also requested a meeting with the 8th CPC after April 13 to discuss their issues.
Nine Gaps In The Questionnaire
The Staff Side has also highlighted issues in the questionnaire. They raised nine technical issues in total. Read here.
The 8th Pay Commission is collecting responses from various stakeholders. These include employee unions, associations, individuals, and others. The questionnaire aims at understanding their demands for discussion before making recommendations to the government.
What 8th Pay Commission Is Tasked With
Notably, the Commission is formed every 10 years. The long period makes the recommendation process all the more critical and crucial. The Commission was formalised on November 3, 2025, through a gazette notification, and is tasked to provide its recommendation within 18 months from the date of constitution.
The CPC is required to give recommendations about salary structure to attract talent to the government services, recommend rationalisation in the existing allowances and conditions, review bonus scheme for performance and productivity, review gratuity and pension schemes, including the National Pension System (NPS) and Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), and the unfunded cost of the non-contributory pension scheme, etc.
Out of this, an important and the most awaited demand is about the fitment factor, a variable that will have a direct impact on the salary amount. While the employees’ bodies want a higher fitment factor, the CPC needs to determine it, finally considering all the factors.
Implementation Of CPC Recommendations
The Pay Commission’s recommendations have historically been applied as soon as the last Commission’s applicable period expires. For instance, the 7th Pay Commission recommendations were implemented in mid-2016, but arrears were given from January 1, 2016. The 6th Pay Commission recommendations were also applied in the same manner. The same is expected from the 8th CPC as well, whose 18-month recommendation period will be over in May 2027.
The employees’ unions and pensioners’ bodies want these to be implemented from the first day of 2026; however, the government has yet to formally announce the date from which the arrears will be considered for payment.
