8th Pay Commission: Rs 18,000 to Rs 69,000 minimum pay? What pensioners’ body has proposed

The 8th Pay Commission completed its round of Bengaluru meetings on Thursday, where it held meetings with organisations such as the Coordination Committee of Central Government Pensioners Associations, Karnataka; the Karnataka Posts and Telecommunications Pensioners' Association; the Karnataka Income Tax Pensioners' Association and the Karnataka Central Government Pensioners Association, among others. These bodies discussed on a variety of topics such as pay, pension, fitment factor, allowances and post restructuring.

Here, we take you through the recommendations of the Karnataka Posts and Telecommunications Pensioners' Association made to the 8th Pay Commission.

Rs 69,000 minimum pay and 3.833 fitment factor


Based on the recommendation of the National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery (Staff Side), the Karnataka pensioners’ body has recommended a minimum basic pay of Rs 69,000 and a fitment factor of 3.833 for all central government employees. The minimum basic pay as per the 7th Pay Commission is Rs 18,000.

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Rs 34,470 as minimum pension

Based on a 3.833 fitment factor, the Karnataka pensioners’ body has also suggested a minimum pension of approximately Rs 34,470 to the 8th Pay Commission. The recommended pension is 3.83 times the current Rs 9,000 minimum pension.

Merger of pay scale

The pensioners’ body has suggested that the 8th Pay Commission merge the 18 employee levels of the 7th Pay Commission into seven in the new pay commission.

Standardised pay scales/number of pay scales after merger of pay scales

Sl. No.	Proposed pay scale	Existing pay matrix	Proposed minimum basic pay
1	Pay Scale 1 (existing Level 1)	₹18,000–56,900	₹ 69,000
2	Pay Scale 2 (merger of existing Levels 2 and 3)	₹21,700–69,100	₹ 83,200
3	Pay Scale 3 (merger of existing Levels 4 and 5)	₹29,200–92,300	₹ 1,12,000
4	Pay Scale 4 (existing Level 6)	₹35,400–1,12,400	₹ 1,35,700
5	Pay Scale 5 (merger of existing Levels 7 and 8)	₹47,600–1,51,100	₹ 1,82,500
6	Pay Scale 6 (merger of existing Levels 9 and 10)	₹56,100–1,77,500	₹ 2,15,100
7	Pay Scale 7 to Pay Scale 13	Existing Levels 11 to 17 may be renumbered as Pay Scales 7 to 13, respectively.	Not specified

Update Aykroyd formula

The Aykroyd formula is an important parameter for the pay commissions to calculate revised payouts.

The formula was coined in 1937 by Dr Wallace Ruddell Aykroyd. However, the 15th Indian Labour Conference (ILC) officially adopted the formula in 1957 to establish the nationwide framework for need-based minimum wages. Ever since, pay commissions in India have used it as an important factor to calculate pay.

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However, the Karnataka pensioners’ body says that the expenditure pattern has drastically changed over the last 65 years and hence, the Aykroyd formula should also be changed.

“In the digital era today, additional essential expenses such as communication, digital devices and internet access have become unavoidable. Therefore, the Aykroyd formula requires updating to reflect modern living requirements,” says the Karnataka pensioners’ body in its recommendations to the 8th Pay Commission.

5 family units count for 8thPay Commission

The Karnataka pensioners' body says that the 7th Pay Commission’s system of treating a family as 3 units should be dispensed with and in the 8th Pay Commission, the family should be treated as 5 units (employee 1 unit, spouse 1 unit (no gender discrimination), 2 children, 0.8 units each of the parents.

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This works out to a total of 5.2 units (rounded off to 5 units), the pensioners’ body says in its memorandum submitted to the 8th Pay Commission.

6% annual increment

The Karnataka pensioners' body has recommended the 8th Pay Commission to increase the annual increment rate from 3% to 6%.

“The current increment rate of 3% appears to be insufficient to serve as an incentive for better performance, skill enhancement, and maintaining motivation levels among employees. A higher increment rate would serve as a meaningful reward for continuous professional development and commitment,” the Karnataka pensioners’ body says in its memorandum.