Lakhs of central government employees and pensioners are eagerly waiting for news about one thing at the moment: the 8th Pay Commission. There has been a lot of stir in government circles since the announcement of its formation in November. The commission has been given 18 months to submit its report. Experts believe that the new pay commission may be implemented by late 2027 or early 2028.
However, the biggest debate is about the ‘fitment factor’. This is the figure that will decide how much money will be in your account at the end of the month. Recently, the Federation of National Postal Organizations (FNPO) has presented a big proposal to the government, which has given further impetus to this discussion. Let us understand how a fitment factor of 2 or 3 will affect the salary of employees ranging from peon to senior officer.
Fitment factor decides salary
Fitment factor plays the most important role in deciding the salary of government employees. This is a multiplier by which your basic salary is multiplied. During the 7th Pay Commission, this factor was 2.57, increasing the basic salary from ₹7,440 to ₹18,000. Now, postal employees’ organization FNPO, in its letter to the National Council, has demanded that the fitment factor for Group A, B, C, and D employees be kept between 3 and 3.5. He has clearly said that in view of rising inflation, a respectable increase in salary is necessary. However, there is also speculation that the government may limit it to 2. There is a huge difference between these two situations.
If fitment factor is 2 then how much will the salary increase?
Suppose the government takes a slightly stricter approach and sets the fitment factor at ‘2’. According to experts at Nextigm Solutions, this will have a direct impact on basic pay. If we talk about Level-1 employees (like peons or entry-level staff), whose estimated basic salary currently is ₹18,000, then by a factor of 2 their new basic salary will be ₹36,000. This is a direct increase of ₹18,000. If we talk about level-10 officers, their salary will increase from ₹56,100 to ₹1,12,200. At the highest level, Level-18 (Cabinet Secretary level), this increase will take the salary from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh. There will be a significant increase in salary even by a factor of 2, but employees are expecting more than this.
How much will the salary increase if the fitment factor becomes 3?
If the government accepts the demands of FNPO and other employee organizations and fixes the fitment factor at ‘3’, it will be no less than a lottery. The organization has also suggested changes in the pay matrix and allowances in its 60-page report. The factor of 3 means that the basic salary of a level-1 employee, which was ₹36,000 with the factor of 2, will directly become ₹54,000. The salary of level-10 officers will reach ₹ 1,68,300. And if we talk about the highest post, Level-18, then their basic salary can reach up to ₹7.5 lakh. This figure is very attractive to employees, and that is why so much emphasis is being placed on a factor of 3 or 3.5.
There is an important meeting on 25th February
Now all eyes are on 25th February. According to FNPO member Shivaji Vasireddy, an important meeting of the National Council Joint Monitoring Committee (NCJMC) is to be held that day. The purpose of this meeting is to bring together all the demands of the employees and prepare a final draft. The draft prepared after the meeting will be handed over to 8th Pay Commission Chairperson Ranjana Prakash Desai. This meeting will largely decide to what extent the demands of the employees will be presented before the Commission.