7th pay commission money talk: Rs 26,000 minimum wages, DA, modification in fitment factor ahead of the festive season?

7th pay commission salary hike: Ahead of the festive season, the government may announce some good news for the central government employees. In a series of salary revision, the Centre may increase the minimum salary by modifying the fitment factor of the central government employees. The central government employees have been long demanding the minimum salary to be increased from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000. This is over and above the amount recommended under the 7th CPC. However, this demand of employees had been there even before the 7th Pay Commission report was submitted but was not granted by the panel, which recommended a jump by 2.57 times in basic salary rather than the over 3 times asked for by the staffers. 

Apart from this, the central government may also announce the H-2 Dearness Allowance (DA) that has been awaited since July 2019. In August, the central government employees were awaiting the DA announcement as they were expecting it one month before the festival season. However, after the DA announcement by some state government, the central government is under immense pressure to announce the central government employee's DA in September ahead of the festival season. If that happens, the central government employees would get three months' arrears (July, August and September 2019) when their September salary will be credited into their bank account. Central Government employees are expecting around 5 per cent DA hike in H2-2019 DA.

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The DA announcement would bring relief for around 2.5 lakh central government employees. Currently, their DA is existing at 144 per cent of their basic pay scale. If the DA is announced 5 per cent, then their DA percentage would increase to 149 per cent. Meanwhile, Haryana State Electricity Board and UP Government have respectively announced the DA for July 2019. In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has talked positively to teachers after they went on a protest asking for a pay hike. 7th Pay Commission benefits to these contractual teachers would be looked at positively, he said.