8th Pay Commission salary and pension hike: Pensioners’ body seeks ₹69,000 minimum pay, ₹34,470 pension

The 8th Pay Commission met with several employee and pensioner organisations in Bengaluru on Thursday to discuss pay, pensions, fitment factors, allowances, and post- restructuring.

One of the organisations, the Karnataka Posts and Telecommunications Pensioners' Association, has submitted recommendations covering minimum pay, minimum pension, pay levels, need-based wages and annual increments.

The Karnataka Posts and Telecommunications Pensioners' Association has recommended a minimum basic pay of Rs 69,000 for all central government employees, based on the National Council–Joint Consultative Machinery (Staff Side)'s recommendation.

It has proposed a fitment factor of 3.833. The minimum basic pay under the 7th Pay Commission is Rs 18,000, which would rise to approximately Rs 69,000 if the proposed factor is applied.

The association has recommended a minimum pension of approximately Rs 34,470 under the 8th Pay Commission. Based on the proposed fitment factor of 3.833, the current minimum pension of Rs 9,000 would increase to around Rs 34,470.

The association has proposed merging the 18 employee levels under the 7th Pay Commission into seven levels under the 8th Pay Commission. It has also suggested standardised pay scales following the merger.

Developed by Dr Wallace Ruddell Aykroyd in 1937, the Aykroyd formula was adopted by the 15th Indian Labour Conference in 1957 to establish a framework for need-based minimum wages.

The association says household spending has changed substantially over the decades. It wants the formula updated to account for modern essential expenses, including communication, digital devices and internet access

The association has recommended replacing the 7th Pay Commission's three-unit family standard with five units for calculating need-based minimum wages.

Its proposed calculation assigns one unit each to the employee and spouse, and 0.8 units each to two children and the parents. The memorandum says the calculation totals 5.2 units, rounded to five. The association also specifies that the spouse's unit should be counted without gender discrimination.

The association has recommended increasing the annual increment rate for central government employees from 3% to 6%. It argues that the current rate is insufficient to reward better performance, skill enhancement and sustained motivation.

According to the association, a higher increment would provide a more meaningful reward for continuous professional development and commitment. The proposed 6% increment remains a recommendation to the 8th Pay Commission.