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8th Pay Commission still a matter of speculation

On a question in this regard in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary denied any announcement of the 8th Pay Commission.

8th Pay Commission still a matter of speculation

[Representational Photo : iStock]

As per recent reports, the Dearness Allowance (DA) rate for Central government employees is expected to cross 50 per cent or even more by January 2024.

With the breach of the 50-per cent mark, it has been anticipated that the 8th Pay Commission is likely to be announced as the previous pay commission had recommended that future pay revision should be done when DA/DR reaches 50 per cent or more than the basic pay.

On a question in this regard in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary denied any announcement of the 8th Pay Commission in a written reply.

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“Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) are paid to Central government employees and pensioners to compensate them for erosion in the real value of their pay and pension on account of inflation. These rates were increased to 42% of the pay and pension in January 2023. The rates of DA/DR are revised periodically every six months on the basis of the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICIP-IW),” the minister said.

The Railway Senior Citizens Welfare Society (RSCWS), through a memorandum to the Ministry of Finance dated 30th May 2023, had urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to set up the 8th Pay Commission from 1st January 2024.

They said the Central government employees and pensioners were facing financial constraints for the last 70 years due to long gaps of 10 years between the Central pay Commissions.

In the same context, a question was raised to Pankaj Chaudhary whether the Government has not considered para 1.22 contained in the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPS) report.

“The government has not considered this issue while approving the revision of pay and allowances based on Seventh Central Pay Commission,” he replied.

Para 1.22 contained in the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPS) report mentions that the pay matrix of Central government employees may be reviewed periodically without waiting for a long period of 10 years based on the Aykroyd Formula.

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