8. Remuneration Committee may be announced in the budget.
The countdown for Budget 2024 has begun. After about a week, the country’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget for 2024 in Parliament. This time in the budget, the central government can give a big gift to over a million government employees and pensioners of the country. This means that the government can announce the eighth pay commission in the budget.
In fact, the government has received another proposal for the formation of the Eighth Wage Commission. Many employee committees have repeatedly urged the Central Government to form the Eighth Wage Commission to make changes in the basic salary, allowances, pensions and other benefits of employees and pensioners.
In a recent letter addressed to the Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, S.B. Yadav, General Secretary, Central Government Employees and Workers’ Union, demanded formation of the eighth Pay Commission, restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), 18 months of dearness allowance and relief from other items that were withheld during the COVID-19 pandemic. This demand came after the demand made by the National Council (staff side) of the Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM).
When will the 8th Salaries Commission be held?
The Central Pay Commission is usually constituted every ten years to review and recommend revision of salaries, allowances and benefits of central government employees. These recommendations take into account inflation and other factors. The Seventh Pay Commission was constituted by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 28 February 2014. It submitted its report on 19 November 2015 and the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission came into effect from 1 January 2016.
If we try to understand this pattern, the next pay commission will generally be implemented from January 1, 2026. However, the central government has not made any official announcement regarding this yet. More than one crore central government employees and pensioners are eagerly waiting for the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission by the government.
Will the eighth wage commission be announced in the budget?
Will the formation of the 8th Wage Commission be announced in the 2024 budget? Ritika Nayyar, Partner at Singhania & Company, said in a media report that this budget is the first one after the return of the PM Modi government for the third consecutive term and the deadline for the Pay Commission is also approaching. The economy may get a boost with the implementation of the 8th Wage Commission but there may be pressure on the exchequer. Incidentally, workers’ organisations are strongly advocating for the 8th wage commission. No statement has come out from the government in this regard yet. It is also not decided whether the wage commission will be announced in the budget or not. It has also been seen in history that a long time passes between announcement and execution.
What are the main demands of public employees and retirees?
- Abolish NPS and restore OPS for all employees.
- Release 18-month DA/DR for employees and pensioners, which was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The 5 percent limit on compassionate appointments should be removed, and all wards/dependents of the deceased employee should be given compassionate jobs.
- Vacant positions must be filled in all departments and outsourcing and contracting practices in government departments must be stopped.
- Casual workers, subcontracted workers and GDS employees should be regularised, employees of autonomous bodies should have the same status as central government employees.
