8th Pay Commission: Drafting Committee Meets Today; 3.25 Fitment Factor and 7% Annual Hike Top Agenda. The process for the much-anticipated 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) has reached a critical milestone today. The Drafting Committee of the National Council (Staff Side) – Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) has convened in the national capital for a week-long session to finalize a unified memorandum of demands for over 1 crore central government employees and pensioners.
The meeting, led by NC-JCM Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra, follows the recent allotment of office space for the 8th Pay Commission at the Chandralok Building on Janpath. With the commission—chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai—now entering its operational phase, employee federations are moving swiftly to consolidate their recommendations into a single, cohesive document.
The “Akroyd Formula” and Graduated Fitment Factors
The Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) has introduced a sophisticated “Multi-Level Fitment Factor” proposal. Unlike previous commissions that often applied a uniform multiplier, the FNPO is advocating for a graduated scale ranging from 3.0 to 3.25.
According to FNPO Secretary General Sivaji Vasireddy, these calculations are rooted in the Akroyd Formula, which determines the minimum living wage based on the nutritional and essential needs of a four-member family.
Proposed Tiered Fitment Structure:
- Levels 1 to 5: A 3.00 factor to provide a strong wage correction for the lowest-earning cadres.
- Levels 6 to 12: A factor of 3.05 to 3.10 to recognize increased supervisory and technical responsibilities.
- Levels 16 and Above: Up to 3.25 to prevent “pay compression” at the highest echelons of the hierarchy.
Charter of Demands: Beyond the Basic Pay
While the fitment factor remains the centerpiece, other major federations, including the Central Government Employees’ Confederation and the All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF), have submitted high-stakes demands to the drafting committee:
- Annual Increments: A significant push to increase the annual increment rate from the current 3% to 7% (or 5% as suggested by FNPO) to ensure meaningful career-long financial progression.
- Family Unit Expansion: A demand to increase the family unit count from 3 to 5 (to include dependent parents), which would mathematically trigger a 66% increase in basic salary calculations.
- Medical & Travel Allowances: Proposals to hike the Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) from Rs 1,000 to Rs 20,000/month for those in non-CGHS areas and to provide Leave Travel Concession (LTC) in cash.
- Retirement Benefits: Increasing leave encashment limits from 300 to 400 days.
- Pension Reform: A renewed and forceful demand for the total restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) by scrapping NPS and UPS.
Illustrative 8th CPC Pay Scale (Proposed by FNPO)
| Level | Status / Category | 7th CPC Entry Pay (Rs) | Proposed Fitment Factor | Proposed Minimum Pay – 8th CPC (Rs) |
| Level 1 | Entry Level (Group C) | 18,000 | 3.00 | 54,000 |
| Level 2 | Group C | 19,900 | 3.00 | 59,700 |
| Level 3 | Group C | 21,700 | 3.00 | 65,100 |
| Level 4 | Group C | 25,500 | 3.00 | 76,500 |
| Level 5 | Group C | 29,200 | 3.00 | 87,600 |
| Level 6 | Group B Entry | 35,400 | 3.05 | 1,08,000 |
| Level 7 | Group B | 44,900 | 3.05 | 1,37,000 |
| Level 8 | Group B | 47,600 | 3.05 | 1,45,200 |
| Level 9 | Group B | 53,100 | 3.05 | 1,62,000 |
| Level 10 | Group A Entry | 56,100 | 3.10 | 1,74,000 |
| Level 11 | Group A | 67,700 | 3.10 | 2,09,900 |
| Level 12 | Group A | 78,800 | 3.10 | 2,44,300 |
| Level 13 | Senior Administrative | 1,18,500 | 3.05 | 3,61,500 |
| Level 13A | Senior Administrative | 1,31,100 | 3.05 | 3,99,900 |
| Level 14 | Senior Administrative | 1,44,200 | 3.15 | 4,54,300 |
| Level 15 | HAG | 1,82,200 | 3.15 | 5,74,000 |
| Level 16 | HAG+ | 2,05,400 | 3.20 | 6,57,300 |
| Level 17 | Apex Scale | 2,25,000 | 3.25 | 7,31,300 |
| Level 18 | Cabinet Secretary | 2,50,000 | 3.25 | 8,12,500 |
The drafting committee members will remain in Delhi until early March to iron out differences between departmental proposals. Once finalized, the joint memorandum will be submitted to Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. While the 8th CPC is expected to be implemented retrospectively from January 1, 2026, the actual disbursement of revised salaries—and the resulting arrears—will depend on how quickly the commission submits its final report to the Union Cabinet.
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