8th Pay Commission: Why unions want fitment factors of 3.61 to 4.00 and a minimum basic salary of up to ₹72,000 in 2027
The 8th Pay Commission is a temporary 3-member body headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The other two members of the 8th Pay Commission panel are Prof Pulak Ghosh, Member (Part-Time) and Pankaj Jain, Member-Secretary. This panel will review the ideas and proposals of eligible employee unions and associations and present its final report to the central government.
The 8th Pay Commission, constituted on 3 November 2025, has been given 18 months to table its final report before the central government, as per the Terms of Reference (ToR). Of this, more than 12 months have already lapsed.
The major areas of consideration the panel has to ponder are the fitment factor multipliers, salary revisions, allowances, pension reforms, employee morale, gratuity, and pension commutation, among other aspects.
An important factor is the ‘fitment factor multiplier’, as it determines how much the basic salaries of central government employees and pensioners can increase in the next pay revision. Prominent employee unions and associations are pushing for fitment factors ranging from 3.61 to 4.00.
Here are the fitment factor demands raised by prominent unions such as the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) Staff Side, Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS), Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS), Ministerial Staff Association (MSA), and Survey of India, and the reasons behind them.
In the 6th and 7th Pay Commissions, the government approved fitment factors of 1.86 and 2.57, respectively. In the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor of 2.57 increased the minimum basic pay from ₹7,000 to ₹18,000.
What is a fitment factor, its basic formula and significance?
The formula calculates a fitment factor multiplier:
New basic pay = Current basic pay x fitment factor
The same factor also has implications for pensioners’ basic pension. For example, an employee with a basic pay of ₹7,000 under the 6th Pay Commission; under the 7th Pay Commission, their new basic pay was calculated as: 2.57 x 7000 = ₹17,990, rounded off to ₹18,000. This is how the fitment factor calculations work; hence, this single metric decides the salary revision of a central government employee.
What are fitment factor demands of employee unions?
The Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) proposed the highest fitment factor of 4.00, which would raise the minimum basic pay to ₹72,000. Its calculation considers the growth in per capita net national income between 2016-17 and 2024-25, the existing minimum pay and dearness allowance, and a 5-unit family requirement.
The National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) Staff Side and Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS) have proposed a fitment factor of 3.833, seeking a minimum basic pay of ₹69,000. The NC-JCM Staff Side arrived at this figure through a consumption-based calculation covering food, clothing, housing, fuel, education and other household expenses for a five-unit family. BPS independently arrived at the same minimum pay using 5.2 weighted family units.
The Ministerial Staff Association (MSA) of the Survey of India demanded a fitment factor of 3.61, which would raise the minimum basic pay to approximately ₹65,000. Its calculation is based on the norms of the 15th Indian Labour Conference and the Reptakos Brett judgment for a five-unit family.
The Railway Senior Citizens’ Welfare Society has not proposed a specific multiplier but has argued that pay revisions should deliver real improvements and constructive changes in income, rather than merely neutralizing the impact of the dearness allowance.
How much difference could these proposals make?
The difference between the proposed fitment factors becomes clearer when applied to the minimum basic pay. The minimum basic pay of the 7th Pay Commission, i.e., ₹18,000, is multiplied by the proposed fitment factor and rounded to the nearest number.
|
Organisation |
Proposed fitment factor |
Proposed minimum basic pay |
|---|---|---|
| MSA | 3.61 | ₹65,000 |
| NC-JCM Staff Side | 3.833 | ₹69,000 |
| Bharat Pensioners Samaj | 3.833 | ₹69,000 |
| BPMS | 4.00 | ₹72,000 |
Note: The fitment factor demands discussed above are illustrative only. For complete details, refer to the official memoranda of the respective employee union.
The difference between the lowest and highest proposals discussed above is about ₹7,000 per month at the minimum pay level. The NC-JCM Staff Side has also proposed a pay matrix starting at ₹69,000 for Level 1, ₹1,35,700 for Level 6 and ₹2,15,100 for the merged Levels 9 and 10.
These demands underscore the need for a major overhaul of salaries for central government employees and pensioners.
The 8th Pay Commission is expected to table its final report by May-June 2027; after that, the central government will take a final decision.
The Centre’s choice of the fitment factor will have long-term implications for central government employees and pensioners, and the changes will be felt over the next decade, until the 8th Pay Commission remains active.
Disclaimer: The fitment factors and minimum pay figures discussed above are proposals submitted by various organisations. They are not approved or confirmed by the government. The final fitment factor will be known only after the central government finalises the official details on it following its review of the 8th Pay Commission report.
