8th Pay Commission: Why employee unions want salary and pension revisions every 5 years

The 8th Pay Commission concluded its Puducherry meet on September 9. The panel is now gearing up for a three-day visit to Chandigarh starting tomorrow, which will conclude by September 18.

Over the past few months, the 8th Pay Commission panel headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has held several key meetings in various states and union territories, including Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Ladakh.

During these interactions, major demands related to the fitment factor, pay revision, pension reforms, and allowances have been raised by employee unions and associations.

The central government employee and pensioner unions have also revived a long-standing demand ahead of the 8th Pay Commission: salary and pension revisions should be considered every 5 years instead of once a decade.

Employee unions and associations are of the view that waiting 10 years for a pay revision can erode purchasing power as prices rise. That is why this demand is primarily aimed at ensuring that government salaries and pensions keep pace with inflation and rising living costs, rather than relying solely on periodic pay commission-based revisions.

Why do employee unions want a shorter pay revision cycle?

The Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS), in its memorandum submitted to the 8th Pay Commission, called for pay and pension revisions every five years. On similar lines, the National Council-JCM Staff Side has also backed the proposal, saying periodic pay revisions are needed to maintain the adequacy and relevance of salaries.

The Railway Senior Citizens’ Welfare Society (RSCWS) highlighted that Dearness Allowance (DA) provides only partial protection against inflation. It also highlighted that some allowances remain unchanged for long periods and are revised only after a Pay Commission.

The Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) has also proposed a Permanent Wage Review Body to replace the decennial pay commission system. The primary purpose of these demands is to assist central government employees and pensioners in combating inflation more effectively. The broad demands of these unions on pay and pension revision are discussed in the table below:

Note: The demands discussed above are indicative; for complete views, refer to the official memorandum of the respective employee union.

THE FNPO has discussed and recommended that fitment factor reviews be triggered whenever the DA exceeds 50%. Still, the financial cost of a 5-year revision cycle has not been quantified in the memorandums.

On a holistic account, the objective of the unions is to shorten the implementation period of a pay commission to facilitate better pay revisions and assist employees and pensioners in combating inflation and lifestyle expenses more effectively.

Why do employees want to end the 10-year pay revision cycle?

This demand was also raised before the 7th Pay Commission. The Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh had argued for shorter pay revision cycles, noting that public sector undertakings had earlier followed a 5-year revision cycle.

Keeping in view these requests of prominent unions and associations from the 8th Pay Commission panel, the core problem is clear: A decade between revisions can eventually mean a prolonged wait for salaries and pensions to reflect rising living costs.

Whether the 8th Pay Commission panel agrees to these views of the unions and recommends a five-year cycle, automatic inflation-linked revisions, or a higher fitment factor remains to be seen. The final decision will depend on the commission’s recommendations and the government’s approval.

For now, these are just demands, and nothing concrete has been decided by the 8th Pay Commission panel and the government yet. Furthermore, the 8th Pay Commission panel is expected to table its final report to the central government by May-June 2026.