7th pay commission: 50 lakh govt employees may get good news soon

Around 50 lakh central government employees might get a good news soon. The Modi government might fulfil the government's much-awaited minimum salary hike demand beyond the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. According to a report in the Sen Times, in the wake of 2019 elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would announce a salary hike in his August 15 speech from the Red fort. The report claimed that the Prime Minister would announce a hike in minimum pay and fitment factor and raise in retirement age on the Independence Day, 15 August 2018.

A report published in Sen Times quoted a government official saing, "Under pressure from the coming general election due by May 2019, the Modi government has indicated that it may hike pay of central government employees beyond the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, seeking to win the Lok Sabha polls because the government knows one government employees can persuade at least 100 voters for the party."

“The two announcements that Prime Minister Modi is likely to make in his speech from Red Fort on 15 August, the Independence Day for central government employees are an increase of pay and the raising retirement age to 62 years from 60,” the report further quoted him as saying. 

However, the government has earlier denied any pay hike beyond the recommendation of the Seventh Pay Commission. 

The Minister of State for Finance P. Radhakrishnan in Lok Sabha had said that the Prime Minister's Narendra Modi government is not planning to give any hike in minimum basic salary beyond the recommendations of the seventh pay commission. 

Denying the reports hinting towards the salary hike, Minister of State for Finance P. Radhakrishnan had said that at present the government has no plans to increase the minimum salary beyond the seventh pay commission recommendations. 

Currently, the Central government employees are getting basic pay according to the fitment formula of 2.57 of the basic pay and if this big step is taken, it will come as a massive news for the Central government employees. Fitment factor is a figure used by 7th CPC with which the basic pay in 6th CPC regime (i.e Pay in Pay band + Grade pay) is multiplied in order to fix basic pay in revised pay structure (i.e 7th CPC). Fitment factor formulated by 7th CPC is 2.57.

After Minister of State for Finance P. Radhakrishnan’s in Lok Sabha clarified that the PM Narendra Modi government is not considering any minimum pay hike beyond the recommendations of the seventh pay commission, the employees' associations reportedly are planning to go on a strike, Sen Times had earlier reported.