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Unions Press 8th Pay Panel for ₹69,000 Minimum and 6% Raises as Consultations Open

Public hearings will test the unions’ steep pay and pension demands against fiscal limits.

Overview

  • The staff side of the NC‑JCM has filed a 51‑page memorandum seeking a 3.83 fitment factor that would lift entry basic pay to about ₹69,000 and raise annual increments to 6%.
  • The submission also asks to merge dearness allowance into basic pay, raise house rent allowance slabs tied to DA, and simplify pay levels to curb career stagnation.
  • Pension proposals include restoring the Old Pension Scheme, setting pension at 67% of last pay, and increasing the gratuity cap from ₹25 lakh to ₹75 lakh.
  • The Eighth Central Pay Commission has opened stakeholder consultations with sessions planned in cities such as Delhi, Pune and Dehradun, and it has an 18‑month window to deliver recommendations.
  • Any approved changes would cover about 5 million employees and roughly 6–6.5 million pensioners, with pay and pension revisions backdated to January 1, 2026 and arrears paid after government approval.