The Central Government is moving step-by-step toward implementing the 8th Pay Commission, but employee unions and pensioners’ organisations have raised fresh concerns. In a significant development, the Central Government Employees and Workers’ Confederation has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the government to amend the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the 8th Central Pay Commission.
According to the Confederation, the current TOR overlooks major issues affecting nearly 69 lakh pensioners and family pensioners across the country. The union claims that their long-standing demands have not been addressed and that excluding their concerns from the TOR would lead to widespread dissatisfaction among the retired community.
Union Says Pensioners’ Issues Ignored in Current TOR
The Confederation has emphasised that pensioners form a crucial segment of the government workforce ecosystem, and ignoring their challenges in the Pay Commission framework is unfair. They have demanded that the government revise the TOR to ensure:
- Fair revision of pension benefits
- Protection against rising inflation
- Timely correction in pension anomalies
- A transparent and inclusive review mechanism
Union representatives argue that without these changes, the benefits of the 8th Pay Commission will remain incomplete and unbalanced.
Government Progresses Toward Implementation
Meanwhile, the Centre continues to advance preparations for the commission in phases. Sources indicate that discussions on salary structure reform, DA merger, and pay anomalies are ongoing. The amendments demanded by unions, if approved, could significantly influence the final structure of the commission’s recommendations.
As the government prepares to finalize the next steps, the appeal from the pensioners’ community has added pressure for a more inclusive approach, ensuring that both serving employees and retired personnel are equally represented in the 8th Pay Commission framework.
