Although the commission is yet to finalize its recommendations, initial discussions suggest that the fitment factor may remain close to the 2.57 multiplier adopted by the Seventh Pay Commission, even though employee unions are pushing for a higher revision.
The fitment factor, which determines the multiplication of existing basic pay and pension to arrive at the revised pay level, remains the most important element of the pay revision exercise.
“The exercise is now moving towards discussions on the possible range of fitment factor, consultation with state governments and assessment of the financial impact of the revised pay and pension structures,” a senior government official familiar with the discussions told ET.
Assessment of the financial burden on both the Central and State governments is likely to be a decisive factor in shaping the final framework.
In their submission, government employees have demanded a steeper hike, including a multiplier of 3.83 and a minimum basic pay of ₹69,000.
The process of submitting memorandums closed on 15 June, marking the end of formal representation of employee unions, pensioners and other stakeholders. The Commission will now review these submissions with inputs collected from the states, starting with Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. These follow the first round of meetings in Delhi, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Maharashtra and other regions as part of the nationwide stakeholder outreach.
Once the remaining consultations are over, the panel is expected to move ahead in consolidation of inputs before drafting its report, which will set out the revised pay and pension structure for central government employees and pensioners.
The Seventh Pay Commission introduced a fitment factor of 2.57, which increased the minimum basic pay from ₹7,000 to ₹17,990, while increasing the Centre’s revenue expenditure from 4.8% in 2015–16 to 9.9% in financial year 2016–17.