8th Pay Commission News: Employee organizations have submitted their final memorandum to the Eighth Pay Commission. Their demands include increasing the minimum basic salary from 18,000 to 69,000.

Big update of 8th Pay Commission

8th Pay Commission: Buzz surrounding the 8th Pay Commission is growing. The Pay Commission's official website has also released a schedule for discussions with stakeholders in various cities. Meetings are being held in cities such as Delhi, Pune, and Dehradun.

The employee side of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) submitted its 51-page final memorandum on April 14. It includes demands such as increasing the minimum basic salary from ₹18,000 to ₹69,000 and increasing the annual increment from 3% to 6%. According to a CNBC TV-18 report, they also demand a fitment factor of 3.83 in the 8th Pay Commission, a metric that has been used for pay revisions.

18000 is no longer enough to survive

Employees' organizations say the demand for a 3.83 fitment factor is based on a five-member family. According to the current Consumer Price Index (CPI), ₹18,000 (the minimum wage under the 7th Pay Commission) is no longer sufficient to meet the basic needs of an average family. Expenses on everything from education to health, food, clothing, and housing have risen. This is why the 3.83 fitment factor has been proposed to help bridge the gap between wages and inflation.

When will the salary increase?

The government constituted the Eighth Pay Commission on November 3, 2025, and it was given 18 months to submit its recommendations. The commission's term is scheduled to begin January 1, 2026, but salary increases and arrears are expected to be disbursed only in early 2027.

These are also the demands of the employee unions.

Among all the demands, a key one is a revision of the HRA (House Rent Allowance) structure. The HRA slabs have been suggested to be increased to 30%, 35%, and 40%, depending on the city. Cities have been categorized as X (40%), Y (35%), and Z (30%). This demand is being made to ensure that an employee's minimum HRA does not fall below a certain amount, so that even lower-level employees can access decent housing.

In addition, the unions are demanding the reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and a pension amount of 67 percent of an employee's last drawn salary. This limit is currently 50 percent.