8th pay commission: The organisation says that the part related to ‘review of pension and retirement benefits’ in the 7th Pay Commission notification in 2014 has been removed from the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission.
8th Pay Commission: Soon after the Central Government issued the complete notification of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission, a major employee organisation has made a serious allegation that 69 lakh pensioners of the country have not been included in the ToR issued. This allegation has been made by the All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF). The organisation says that the part related to ‘Review of Pension and Retirement Benefits’ in the 7th Pay Commission notification of 2014 has been removed in the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission.
What was in the 7th Pay Commission’s ToR?
The 7th Pay Commission’s ToR, issued in 2014, clearly stated that the Commission would also review the pension structure for employees who had already retired. The 7th Pay Commission notification stated, “To examine the principles governing the structure of pensions and other retirement benefits for retired employees, including reviewing the pension revisions of employees who retired before the effective date of these recommendations, while also noting that the retirement benefits of all Central Government employees appointed on or after 01.01.2004 are covered under the New Pension Scheme (NPS).”
This section missing from the 8th Pay Commission’s ToR
This entire section is missing from the 8th Pay Commission’s ToR, issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, on November 3rd. That is, there is no mention of “review of pensions and other retirement benefits.”
AIDEF’s Protest and Demands
On November 4, AIDEF wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting that the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission be amended to include all pensioners who have retired or will retire before January 1, 2026. The organization stated in the letter, “It is extremely unfortunate that 6.9 million central government pensioners and family pensioners, who have served the country for more than three decades, have been excluded from the scope of the 8th Pay Commission.”
Additional Demands
In its letter, AIDEF also suggested that the following issues be included in the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission:
Provision for restoration of the reduced pension amount (commuted value) after 11 years.
5% increase in pension every 5 years from the date of retirement, as per the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
What the Government Said
However, amid these allegations and demands, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav clarified on October 28 that the 8th Pay Commission recommendations would cover approximately 50 lakh central employees as well as approximately 69 lakh pensioners. Meanwhile, AIDEF has also sent a copy of its letter to Shiv Gopal Mishra, Staff Side Secretary of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), requesting him to strongly raise the issue with the government.
