The 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) is holding the second day of consultations with unions of defense and railway ministries today, as it seeks to gather views and inputs from representatives and stakeholders before making its official recommendations.
Set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November last year, it started the processes in January, began meetings submitting memoranda in March and began meetings with employee representatives in April.
This panel, constituted every 10 years, is expected to take important decisions affecting the salaries of central government employees and pensioners. It has planned meetings with employee representatives in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Telangana in May and April. In a notice last month, it had said that separate meetings would also be scheduled in other states and Union Territories (UTs) at an appropriate time.
Wages, pay hikes: What are the demands of major unions?
Three major employee representatives – National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), Maharashtra Old Pension Organisation, and All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF) – have submitted detailed proposals to the 8th CPC, broadly demanding substantial changes in pay, pensions and allowances for central government employees and pensioners.
- pay structure reform – NC-JCM: Integrated Pay Matrix up to Level 13, Maharashtra Old Pension Organisation: Rationalization of pay levels, AIDEF: Cadre restructuring and skill-based pay.
- pension reform – NC-JCM: Structural alignment with revised pay, Maharashtra Old Pension Organisation: OPS restoration + UPS reform + DA linkage, AIDEF: Pension equalization with revised pay structure.
How will the 8th CPC take its decision?
In particular, the feedback shared during these sessions is expected to significantly influence the design of future reforms related to remuneration and pension structures for the Central Government workforce. The panel is expected to collect and analyze data to decide the allowances, pension formula and salary structure for employee and retired groups.
The 8th CPC is chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, former Supreme Court judge, and includes Professor Pulak Ghosh, Tenured Professor of Finance, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, as a Member of the Commission, besides Pankaj Jain as Member-Secretary.
About 50 lakh Central Government employees and about 65 lakh retired Central Government pensioners (including Defense and Railway employees and retirees) are going to be affected by the decisions of the 8th CPC.
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