The Staff Side of the National Council - JCM for Central Government employees has submitted a comprehensive memorandum to the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) proposing significant changes to the existing pay structure. According to reports from Personal Finance News, the Staff Side has suggested merging multiple pay levels to streamline the current system. The proposed mergers include combining Level 2 and Level 3 into Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5 into Level 5, Level 7 and Level 8 into Level 8, and Level 9 and Level 10 into Level 10. Additionally, the Staff Side has recommended merging Level 5 into Level 6 as a one-time measure. The Staff Side has also submitted a detailed pay scale chart showing the revised salary structure and possible increases after the proposed merger and salary revision.
In addition to the merger proposals, the Staff Side has recommended a fitment factor of 3.833 to determine the minimum salary increase at each scale. As reported by Personal Finance News, this factor would raise the minimum salary at Level 1 to ₹69,000. The proposed pay scales after applying the fitment factor show significant increases across all levels. Pay Scale 1 would increase from the current ₹18,000-56,900 to ₹69,000 minimum, while Pay Scale 6 would reach ₹2,15,100 minimum after the merger of existing Level 9 and 10. The revised pay structure shows Pay Scale 2 after merger of existing Level 2 & 3 would span ₹21,700-69,100 with a minimum of ₹83,200, and Pay Scale 3 after merger of existing Level 4 & 5 would range from ₹29,200-92,300 with a minimum of ₹1,12,000.
The existing pay structure currently comprises 17 pay scales, termed Level 1 to Level 17. According to the Staff Side's proposal, the merger would significantly reduce this complexity while maintaining the overall pay progression. The current Level 6 scale ranges from ₹35,400 to ₹1,12,400, while the proposed Level 5 scale after merger would span ₹47,600 to ₹1,51,100. The Staff Side has also indicated that Pay Scales 7-13 (existing Levels 11-17) would be retained using the fitment factor 3.833, with these scales being renumbered as part of the restructuring process.
The Staff Side's suggestions have not yet been accepted by the 8th CPC, as reported by Personal Finance News. The Pay Commission is currently collecting memorandums from various stakeholders, including employees' and pensioners' bodies. The final decision of the Pay Commission will be known only after its recommendations are made public, which may take several months from now. This timeline allows for thorough consideration of all proposals before any implementation decisions are made, ensuring that the final recommendations reflect comprehensive stakeholder feedback and proper analysis of the proposed changes.
