The Jammu & Kashmir Employees Federation, an organisation representing National Pension System (NPS) employees from the union territory, has demanded a fitment factor of 3.05 and a minimum salary of Rs 55,000 for all central government employees in its meeting with 8 th Pay Commission (8 th CPC) officials in Srinagar on Wednesday.
In its memorandum submitted to the 8 th Pay Commission chairperson, Ranjana Prakash Desai, on Wednesday, Rafeeq Malik, president, Jammu & Kashmir Employees’ Federation, has recommended higher annual increment, merging dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay, higher house rent allowance (HRA) rates, replacing NPS with Old Pension Scheme (OPS), increasing the retirement age of school teachers to 65 years, draw a pay parity with Delhi employees, among other things.
Why is the J&K employees’ body demanding a fitment factor of 3.05 and a minimum basic pay of Rs 55,000 from the 8th Pay Commission?
To reach the fitment factor of 3.05, the J&K employees’ body is recommending calculating five family units instead of the current three, merging DA with basic pay and adjusting an increase in nutritional and consumption cost. Here’s how it is calculating the basic pay.
1. Revision of family units
7th CPC basis: Rs 6,000 per unit × 3 units = Rs 18,000
Proposed: 5 family units (Employee, spouse, 2 kids & parents)
Revised basic pay: Rs 6,000 × 5 = Rs 30,000
2. Merger of dearness allowance (58%)
Rs 30,000 × 1.58 = ₹47,400
3. Adjustment for increase in nutritional & consumption cost (20–25%)
Rs 47,400 × 1.20 = Rs 56,880
Rs 47,400 × 1.25 = Rs 59,250
4. Final derived range
Scientifically derived minimum pay falls in the range of:
Rs 55,000 – Rs 60,000
In its final recommendation, the J&K employees’ body told the 8 th CPC that the minimum basic pay (for a Level-1 employee) should be fixed in the range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. For practical implementation, it is recommended that Rs 55,000 may be adopted as the minimum assured benchmark, and the structure should allow progression towards Rs 55,000–Rs 60,000, reflecting actual need-based requirements.
Annual increment at 6%
Among its other demands, the J&K employees’ body says that the current annual increment of 3% is insufficient in ensuring meaningful real income growth for employees in the long term. It has recommended the 8 th Pay Commission to increase it to 6% annually.
Dearness allowance calculation process
The J&K employees’ body says the current method of calculating DA based on the Consumer Price Index (AICPI) follows the practice of rounding down the fraction to the nearest lower integer.
The employee body recommends that the practice of rounding off fractions be discontinued, and the actual increase reflected in the Consumer Price Index should be fully incorporated into DA.
HRA increase and DA merger
The J&K employees’ body said that under the 7 th Pay Commission, HRA increased when DA reached at 50%. The employee body recommends decreasing this limit to 25%. The J&K body says when DA reaches at 50%, it should be merged with basic salary and DA and HRA should be revised. Its recommended rates for HRA are-
When DA is below 25%:
- Category X Cities: 30%
- Category Y Cities: 20%
- Category Z Cities: 10%
When DA is 25% to 50%:
- Category X Cities: 35%
- Category Y Cities: 25%
- Category Z Cities: 15%
At present, HRA rates for X, Y and Z cities are 30%, 20% and 10%, respectively. Before DA hit 50%, the same rates were 24%, 16% and 8%, respectively.
Upgradation and abolitions of titles for teachers and zonal education officers
The J&K employees' body has also recommended pay scale changes and abolition of certain titles for teachers and zonal education officers.
The body recommended that the pay scale of zonal education officers should be raised and made equivalent to that of principals, while all the existing designations of General Line Teacher (GLT) and Regularized Rehbar-e-Taleem (RRET) should be abolished and redesignated as Post Graduate Teacher (PGT) and TGT (Trained Graduate Teacher).
The employees’ body suggested that pay scales of masters should be brought at par with that of naib tehsildars. It has also recommended that the pay scale of headmasters should be upgraded and made equivalent to that of senior lecturers.
Hard zone allowance
The J&K employees' body has recommended that employees serving in hard and difficult areas should be granted a hard zone allowance at the rate of 10% of basic pay in view of the challenging working conditions and geographical hardships.
