8th Pay Commission: Employee unions that represent central government employees have suggested a major change to the salary calculation method that is likely to be adopted by the forthcoming 8th Central Pay Commission. The employee unions have suggested that the number of family units used to calculate salaries should be increased to five from the current three. This change may lead to a substantial increase in salaries if the government agrees to the proposal.
If the proposal is agreed to by the government, the fitment factor may exceed 3, which is likely to result in a substantial increase in salaries for central government employees.
8th Pay Commission: Proposal Raised During NC-JCM Discussions
The demand was raised at a recent meeting of the National Council (Staff Side)–Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM). During the meeting, the employee associations raised the demand to reconsider the existing formula to decide the salary revision.
Several associations of government employees and pensioners have endorsed the proposal. According to them, the decision to increase the family size would automatically increase the fitment factor. The fitment factor is a key factor to decide the salary revision after every pay commission.
8th Pay Commission: Origin of the Family Unit Concept
The idea of using family units in determining wage structures goes back several decades. C. Srikumar, secretary general of the All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), says the idea was first proposed during the 15th Indian Labor Conference held in 1957.
During the 15th Indian Labor Conference, the concept of need-based wage structures was proposed. During the discussions, it was agreed that a minimum wage level should be based on a family unit of three.
In the three family unit wage structure, each family unit includes husband, wife & two children. Ever since then, the three family unit wage structure has been accepted by most wage commissions in determining wage structures for government employees.
8th Pay Commission: Why Employee Unions Want Five Family Units
Organisations of employees have pointed that the current formula does not accurately reflect the current reality of the household. Srikumar drew attention to the fact that the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, makes it a legal responsibility for the children to look after their parents. Therefore, parents should also be included in the family unit calculation.
Manjeet Singh Patel, who is the national president of the All India NPS Employees Federation, also drew attention to the fact that parents are now financially dependent on the children due to the rise of nuclear families.
8th Pay Commission: What the Proposal Could Mean for Employees
However, if the government accepts the proposal for increasing the family units, the revision of salaries as per the 8th Pay Commission could be much higher than what is currently expected.
However, the actual outcome will depend on the recommendations made by the pay commission as well as the government’s decision on the proposal. Until then, the unions of employees will continue to push for changes that they feel will better represent the financial responsibilities of government employees today.
