7th Pay Commission salary hike by 3.68 times fitment factor key demand, but these Railways men want more; 5 points

7th Pay Commission: What was most on the minds of central government employees was whether they would get a hike in minimum salary to Rs 26,000 based on a fitment factor formula of 3.68 times that would progressively have had an impact on the salaries spread across the entire hierarchy. However, to this big row, has been added a number of other key demands by Indian Railways employees who have gone on a massive strike in front of Parliament to press for their demands. Whether it has any impact will be known soon enough. The demands of these staffers as detailed by All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) are listed here, check them out:
 
1. 7th Pay Commission salary hike to Rs 26,000 and not anything lower than that. This is to ensure their lifestyle is not adversely impacted.
 
2. National Pension System must be scrapped as it was not proving to be beneficial for them as the defined minimum pension is no more guaranteed for those employees who joined government service in 2004 or thereafter.
 
3. Indian Railways works being outsourced to foreigners is a "potential threat" to passenger safety and would cause job losses too or make Railways staff redundant. 
 
4. Inflow of 100 per cent foreign direct investments (FDI) in Indian Railways is a big worry. Agreements with Alstom (France) and General Electric (USA) were specifically named.
 
5. Disapproval was voiced against Ministry of Railways for closing down a number of printing presses and handing of this work to outsiders.
 
Significantly, unless the government intervenes, the deadline for the 7th Pay Commission salary hike is drawing near, and the report will be implemented thereafter. What is notable is the fact that the salary hike will be at a rate much higher than the one recommended by the committee. As far as the Railways men's protest is concerned, at the moment there has been no reaction from the authorities on points they raised about NPS, outsourcing and FDI.