8th Pay Commission: At present DA/DR is being given at the rate of 46 percent. This allowance will increase by 4 percent by next month. The rule is that as soon as the rate of dearness allowance crosses fifty percent, the government will have to seriously consider the formation of the 8th Pay Commission.
Central government employees and pensioners are going to get good news very soon. In the first week of March, dearness allowance ‘DA’ for government employees and dearness relief ‘DR’ allowance for retired people will increase by four percent. At present DA/DR is being given at the rate of 46 percent. This allowance will increase by 4 percent by next month. The rule is that as soon as the rate of dearness allowance crosses fifty percent, the government will have to seriously consider the formation of the 8th Pay Commission. C. Sreekumar, member of the staff-side National Council (JCM) and general secretary of the All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF), says the current DA rate of the personnel is 46 per cent. As soon as this rate reaches 50 percent, the demand for formation of the Eighth Pay Commission will be placed before the Central Government. It is possible that the government may announce the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission before the Lok Sabha elections.
The All India CPI-IW report for December 2023 was released by the Labor Bureau of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India on January 31, 2024. In this, the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers has been compiled at the level of 138.8 points. With this, government employees are expected to see an increase of four percent in their dearness allowance from January 1, 2024. A decision on the DA issue is possible in the Union Cabinet meeting to be held next week. In the second half of last year, the central government had increased the dearness allowance of its employees by four percent. After that the rate of Dearness Allowance i.e. ‘DA’ increased from 42 percent to 46 percent. Now there is a possibility of 4 to 5 increase in dearness allowance of government employees from January 1, 2024.
The index was compiled at the level of 138.8 points.
A decrease of 0.3 points has been recorded in the All India CPI-IW for December 2023 released by the Labor Bureau of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India on January 31, 2024. The Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers stood at 138.8 points. There has been a decrease of 0.22 percent in the index compared to the previous month, whereas a decrease of 0.15 percent was recorded between the same two months a year ago. The Price Index for Industrial Workers is compiled every month by the Labor Bureau, an office related to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, on the basis of retail prices collected from 317 markets in 88 important industrial centers spread across the country. The index is compiled for 88 industrial centers and all India. This compilation is released on the last working day of the following month.
Change affected by 0.45 point percentage
The maximum contribution to the decline recorded in the index has been made by the Food and Beverages group, which has influenced the total change by 0.45 percentage point. The decrease recorded in the index is of items like rice, poultry chicken, mustard oil, apple, banana, cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, French bean, green coriander, ginger, onion, potato, tomato, pea, radish and domestic electricity charges etc. Due to the recorded decline in prices. In contrast, mainly wheat, buffalo milk, fresh fish, brinjal, drum stick, garlic, lady’s finger, white sugar, prepared food, tobacco leaf, prepared paan, readymade trouser pants, leather sandals/chappal/slippers, electric battery, employees State insurance contribution, toothpaste/toothpowder, auto rickshaw/scooter fare and bus fare etc. have controlled the decline in the index.
The decrease in 33 centers was between 0.1 to 0.9 points.
At the central level, Coimbatore’s index has the maximum of 4.7 points, followed by Ludhiana with a decrease of 3.2 points. In other six centres, there was a decrease of 2 to 2.9 points, in 18 centers there was a decrease of 1 to 1.9 points and in 33 centers there was a decrease of between 1 to 1.9 points. In contrast, Solapur has recorded a maximum increase of 1.5 points. In other 6 centers the increase was between 1 to 1.4 points and in 19 centers the increase was between 0.1 to 0.9 points. The indices of the remaining three centers remained stable. The inflation rate for December 2023 has been 4.91 percent compared to 4.98 percent last month and 5.50 percent in the same month last year. The food inflation rate was 8.18 percent compared to 7.95 percent last month and 4.10 percent in the same month a year ago.
It is not necessary that ‘Pay’ revision should be done only in 10 years.
For the last several years, the DA of central employees has been increasing by four percent. In January this year also, DA rates may increase by four to five percent. If this happens then the salaries of the employees will be revised. Apart from the salary, many of their allowances will also increase by up to 25 percent. According to Srikumar, the Central Government will have to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission. The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended that ‘pay’ revision at the Center should be done only every ten years, it is not necessary. There is no need to wait for this period. It can also be periodic. However, the Pay Commission has not given any clear definition as to when and after how much time the Pay Commission should be constituted.
Dissatisfaction among two crore employees and pensioners
Regarding the formation of the 8th Pay Commission, the Central Government has bluntly replied that there is no idea of its formation as of now. The resentment of about two crore employees and pensioners is being seen on this. Employee organizations have termed the decision of the Central Government not to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission as extremely unfortunate. National President of All India State Government Employees Federation, Subhash Lamba has said that he will protest against this decision of the Central Government. Now ‘Bharat Pensioner Samaj’ has also raised the demand for formation of 8th Pay Commission. Also during the Corona period
