8th Pay Commission: Government staff seek Rs 69,000 minimum pay, DA merger proposal

New Delhi: Central government employees have sought a sweeping overhaul of pay, pensions and service conditions under the Eighth Central Pay Commission, proposing a minimum basic salary of Rs 69,000, a fitment factor of 3.83, and a return to the practice of merging dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay at 25%.

In its memorandum, submitted to the Eighth pay commission on April 14, the staff-side of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) has laid out an expansive blueprint that goes beyond salary revision to include cadre restructuring, higher annual increments and pension parity.

It also asked to include new family-friendly provisions such as five member family unit and a detailed provision for surrogacy and adoption apart from paternity leave.

The proposals, if accepted in full, could mark one of the sharpest pay resets in recent decades for 5 million government employees and 6.5 million pensioners, including defence personnel. However, this may also come with a significant fiscal burden.

However, the memorandum argues that the existing wage framework no longer reflects current consumption patterns and inflation-adjusted living costs, and therefore requires a comprehensive reset rather than incremental revision.

The Seventh Pay Commission introduced a fitment factor of 2.57 that raised the minimum basic pay from ₹7,000 to ₹17,990 while increasing the revenue expenditure of the centre to 9.9% in fiscal year 2016-17 from 4.8% in 2015-16

It also recommends increasing the annual increment rate from 3% to 6%.

The memorandum also argues that increased expenditure should not be considered as a fiscal burden but as "investment" as the increased salary will have a multiplier impact on overall consumption and will boost the economy.

Beyond the headline salary demand, the staff body has pushed for a rationalisation of the pay matrix, proposing the merger of multiple overlapping pay levels across the hierarchy.

The objective, according to the memorandum, is to reduce stagnation in promotions and simplify the layered structure that currently governs career progression in central government services.

The proposed restructuring is aimed at addressing long-standing grievances around slow upward mobility, particularly for employees in lower and mid-level cadres who often face extended periods without meaningful financial progression.

The memorandum says the government should focus on family-friendly workforce policies, calling for enhanced and standardised paternity leave policies, recognising the role of fathers in early childcare responsibilities.

In a significant update reflecting evolving family structures which advocates for five-member family units including ageing parents , the memorandum also proposes that child-care related benefits be explicitly extended to employees opting for surrogacy and adoption.

This includes ensuring parity in leave entitlements for parents who become guardians through non-traditional routes of parenthood.

The NC-JCM has demanded that revised pay structures be extended to pensioners, including those who retired before the implementation of the new pay matrix and linking pension revisions to the new fitment framework.

The Eighth Central Pay Commission initiated consultations with various stakeholders and will independently evaluate the proposals based on fiscal space, macroeconomic conditions, and sustainability of government expenditure.