For the 8th Pay Commission, the employee organizations have submitted demands to the government such as restoration of old pension, cashless treatment, children’s education assistance, risk allowance, expansion of the scope of MACP and changes in the minimum wage determination. These recommendations will affect 45 lakh employees and 68 lakh pensioners. At present, the government is considering these suggestions.
There is good news for government employees. Preparations have started for the 8th Central Pay Commission, which will come into effect from January 1, 2026. According to a report by Business Standard, employee organizations have submitted a long list of their demands to the government, which have been appealed to take into consideration. The main demands of the organizations include restoration of old pension scheme, cashless treatment facility, children’s education and hostel expenses, and separate allowance and insurance coverage for employees doing risky work. The recommendations of this commission will affect about 45 lakh employees and 68 lakh pensioners, including people from defense and paramilitary forces.
Demand for return of old pension intensifies
The biggest demand of the employees is that those recruited after 2004 should also get the benefit of Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Currently, they get pension under New Pension Scheme (NPS), which is based on contribution and the benefits are less. Employees want that they should also get fixed and secure pension after retirement, as they used to get earlier. Along with this, it has also been said that the pension amount should be increased every 5 years and old and new pensioners should get equal benefits.
Treatment facility should be completely cashless
Employees have also put forward some important points regarding treatment. They say that even today many employees and pensioners have to pay money from their pocket for treatment and later have to face a long hassle of refund. Therefore, a demand has been made to the government to implement a completely cashless medical facility, in which retired employees receiving pension should also get equal treatment. There is a need to improve the system especially for retired employees of the postal department.
Help should also be provided in children’s education
In view of the rising cost of education, employee organizations have said that the government should help in bearing the expenses of children’s education. They want that all employees should get education allowance for children’s education, and if the child studies by staying in a hostel, then hostel subsidy should also be given. This assistance should be available till post graduation level, so that there is no hindrance in the higher education of children.
Those doing dangerous work should get separate allowance and insurance
There has been a demand to provide risk allowance and insurance protection for employees who work related to the manufacture or storage of dangerous things like weapons, chemicals, acids and explosives. There has also been a demand for special risk and hardship allowance for railway employees, so that those who work in a risky environment every day, also get compensation according to their hard work and risk.
Demand for change in MACP scheme
MACP i.e. Modified Assured Career Progression is a scheme under which those employees get financial benefit, who did not get promotion for a long time. Now the employees want that the scope of this scheme should be increased and it should also include Gramin Dak Sevaks, Paramilitary Force Jawans and employees of autonomous institutions running under the government. Along with this, it has also been said that some old and irrelevant pay scales should be abolished and merged into a new and practical scale.
Preparations to set a new scale of expenditure
Employee organizations say that the Standard Consumption Unit (SCU) should be increased from 3 to 3.6. This unit tells how much an average person needs daily, and it is used to decide the basis of minimum wage and government expenditure. If this suggestion is accepted, then government expenditure will increase and the starting salary for employees can also be fixed higher.
The government will deliberate on the suggestions
The government has not yet formally constituted the commission, but has started the process of deciding the Terms of Reference (ToR) i.e. the scope of work for this. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Parliament that the suggestions received from the employees have been recorded and now the Department of Personnel (DoPT) and the Department of Expenditure will analyze them and send the final draft to the Cabinet.
It is worth noting that when the Seventh Pay Commission was implemented in 2016, there was an additional burden of about Rs 1 lakh crore on the government. In such a situation, now the government will have to strike a balance between the expectations of the employees and the budget.
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