7th Pay Commission: Centre may not raise minimum pay to Rs 26,000, fitment factor 3.68 times

New Delhi: If Modi government will accept the demands of Central government employees', around 48 lakh employees are likely to see minimum pay hike from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 and fitment factor from 2.57 times to 3.68 times. 

These benefits were recommended by the 7th Pay Commission and approved by the Union Cabinet.  

According to reports, pay hikes will come into effect from April 2018. Earlier, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised salary increase for the lower-level employees beyond the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission and had also said this in the Rajya Sabha on July 19, 2016.
 
The Modi government had approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission in June 2016 and raised minimum pay from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month with fitment factor 2.57 times. 

But, the Central government employees are demanding for a minimum pay hike to Rs 26,000 from Rs 18,000 and fitment factor to 3.68 times from 2.57 times. For that, the Modi government has reportedly formed a committee to look into this matter.

According to Finance Ministry sources, earlier it has been said that the demand for hike in minimum pay and fitment factor beyond the recommendations won’t be accepted as it will bring a financial burden on the government.  

According to an earlier report, 34 modifications by the 7th Pay Commission had been approved by the Union Cabinet, which means an additional annual burden of Rs 30,748 crore to the exchequer. All allowances are given the effect from July 1, 2017.

A day after the Cabinet had cleared the 7th Pay Commission, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised to consider their demand for higher minimum pay. Even if the higher minimum pay is announced, Central government employees, who get salaries from pay matrix level 1 to 5 will only get the benefit of it and mid-level and top-level employees will continue to get salaries according to the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.

According to reports, the Modi government is planning to give minimum pay of Rs 21,000 instead of current Rs 18,000. However, it is believed that the increase will differ based on pay matrix level, an official said earlier. 

The government is reportedly working on pay hike for the lower-level employees from April, following the promise of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament and the demands of the unions despite the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) letter on October 30, last year.

The letter published by the DoPT stating that the demand for an increase in pay and fitment factor does not appear to be treated as an anomaly, therefore, these do not come under the purview of the National Anomaly Committee (NAC). The government had also formed the NAC to resolve pay-related anomalies that may arise during the implementation of recommendations.