Will 8th Pay Commission be Implemented?: Implementing the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, the central government has increased the dearness allowance (DA) to 50 per cent. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has also issued clarification regarding the increase in certain allowances by 25 per cent after the DA hike. After the DA touches its upper limit of 50 per cent, there are two options the central government has. It can either merge the DA with the basic pay of its employees or can come up with a new pay commission.

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The government is yet to announce whether it will launch the 8th Pay Commission, but the possibility of a new pay commission can't be ruled out.

ALSO READ | 7th Pay Commission: Allowances for Central Government employees rise by 25% after Dearness Allowance hiked to 50% — Check full list of benefits, payable amount, arrear date, calculation

The latest development in the same direction is a letter written by the Indian Railways Technical Supervisors’ Association (IRTSA) to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

The letter has requested the formation of the 8th Pay Commission.   

In an office memorandum dated March 20, 2024, the ministry said, :The undersigned is directed to forward a copy of letter No. IRTSA/Memo-7 dated 26.02.2024 received from Shri RV Ramesh, General Secretary, Indian Railways Technical Supervisors’ Association on the subject mentioned above to the Department of Expenditure for further necessary action."      

The central government forms a pay commission in every 10 years.

When the Sixth Pay Commission ended in the Year 2016, the government implemented the 7th Pay commission.

The government said that the purpose of the pay commission was to "examine, review, evolve, recommend changes regarding the principles that should govern the emoluments' structure including pay, allowances, and other facilities/benefits, in cash or in kind, as well as the specialised needs of various Departments, agencies, and services, in respect of central government employees."

Key changes since 7th Pay Commission implementation

The letter by IRTSA also highlighted the key changes that have taken place during the 7th Pay commission. "Since the implementation of 7th CPC recommendations w.e.f. 01.01.2016, many changes have taken place in government functioning, performance & size of Indian economy, GDP growth, quantum of various tax collections, role of various government departments, inflation pattern, erosion of real wages due to inflation, condition of service, role of private sectors in public utilities and government's regulation over them, number of employees in each department, number of employees covered under National Pension Scheme (NPS), considerable reduction in poverty, changes in consuming pattern of employees & general public, etc.," the letter stated.

'Urgent need for 8th Pay Commission to remove anomalies'

Demanding for the 8th Pay Commission, the letter further said: "A new pay commission needs to be constituted for the elimination of disparities/anomalies in salaries between different groups of employees and for the reasons explained above. Sufficient time should be given to the pay commission to study all principles relating to pay & allowance, working conditions, promotional avenues, classification of posts, etc., and to hear the views of every stakeholder including staff side."

"It is therefore requested to constitute 8th Central Pay Commission immediately to enable it to have sufficient time to give comprehensive recommendations to clear all existing anomalies and without giving room for future anomalies," the letter said.
    

Government revises allowances

Earlier, the ministry said that as per the rules, "the limits of Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy would be automatically raised by 25 per cent every time the Dearness Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50 per cent." 

The ministry's announcement came after receiving several queries from various quarters with regards to the amount of Children Education Allowance (CEA) and Hostel Subsidy admissible.

Both these things are payable to central government employees after the DA hike.

The DA hike of 50 per cent is available since January 1, 2024.

The rates of special allowance for child care given to women with disabilities have also been revised to Rs 3,750 per month subject to other conditions mentioned in this Department's office memorandum.