The countdown for the formal formation of the 8th Pay Commission by the Central Government has begun. At the same time, there is anxiety and curiosity among the employees about the final decision on the fitment factor.
Actually, the fitment factor is the criterion on the basis of which the commission decides the increase in the salary of central government employees.
Although there has been no official announcement on the fitment factor yet, the media suggests that the fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission will increase between 1.92 and 2.86. In such a situation, the question arises whether the increase in the fitment factor will lead to a huge increase in the salary of government employees?
According to a report by Financial Express, the Pay Commission applies the fitment factor on the basic salary of the employee and not on the gross salary. Hence, it is a misconception that if the 8th Pay Commission opts for 2.86 as the fitment factor, the salary and pension will increase manifold.
Why is there no increase in salary and pension in proportion to the increase in basic salary?
The report also states that another reason for the effect of the fitment factor not being visible on the gross salary is the presence of many other components in the salary. In fact, the Pay Commission considers many details from including dearness allowance in the basic salary to revising other allowances from the salary structure, which means that the fitment factor is used only on the basic salary of the employee.
For example, under the 7th Pay Commission, a fitment factor of 2.57 was applied for revision of pay and pension, resulting in an increase in the basic pay from Rs 7000 to Rs 18000, but when it came to the actual increase, the average increase in pay and pension for employees under Level 1 to 3 was around 15 per cent. However, the increase was higher for employees under Level 4 to 10.
Real salary hike in previous pay commissions
| Second Pay Commission | 14.2% |
| third pay commission | 20.6% |
| Fourth Pay Commission | 27.6% |
| Fifth Pay Commission | 31.0% |
| Sixth Pay Commission | 54.0% |
| 7th pay commission | 14.3% |
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has rejected reports that the basic pay will be merged with the dearness allowance as an interim relief for government employees, while the Centre has said that the announcement about the 8th Pay Commission will be made in due course. Some reports have said that the commission will be formally constituted in April next month.
What are the expectations from the 8th Pay Commission?
Now that the countdown for the formation of the 8th Pay Commission has begun, government employees and pensioners are expecting a good salary hike this time, which will give them enough salary to live a respectable and dignified life.
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