The Stalled 8th CPC

 

                  The Stalled 8th CPC

Bruhaspati Samal 

General Secretary 

Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers 

Odisha State CoC, Bhubaneswar 

When millions of government employees and pensioners anxiously wait for justice in their pay and pension revision, the silence of the Government reverberates louder than any official statement. Inflation is burning through household savings, medical costs are skyrocketing, and living with dignity is becoming a daily struggle for pensioners. Yet, while the elected representatives of the people revise their own salaries and allowances without delay or hesitation, the workforce that keeps the administrative machinery of this nation alive is forced to wait indefinitely. The delay in the constitution of the Eighth Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) is not just bureaucratic lethargy—it is a betrayal of trust.

On 3rd December 2024, the Government had officially informed the Rajya Sabha that there was “no proposal” to constitute the 8th CPC. But within six weeks, in a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting held on 16th January 2025, it was proudly declared that the Hon’ble Prime Minister had approved its constitution. Letters were issued, suggestions were sought from the Staff Side of the National Council (JCM), and meetings were conducted in February 2025 to finalise the Terms of Reference. Yet, seven long months have passed since, and no tangible action has emerged. This deliberate inertia is spreading anguish and discontent among Central Government employees and pensioners, who together constitute crores of citizens across India.

The urgency of the matter cannot be overstated. The recommendations of the 8th CPC are due to take effect from 1st January 2026. But past experience is testimony that a Pay Commission takes nearly 18 to 24 months to complete its report. Illustratively, the 5th CPC, constituted in April 1994, submitted its report in January 1997, and the recommendations were implemented with effect from 1st January 1996 retrospectively. The 6th CPC, constituted in October 2006, submitted its report in March 2008, and the recommendations were implemented from 1st January 2006 retrospectively. The 7th CPC, constituted in February 2014, submitted its report in November 2015, and the recommendations were implemented from 1st January 2016. Each Commission required close to two years for its deliberations. Thereafter, the Government took further time to examine the recommendations, secure Cabinet approval, and notify their implementation. With barely four months left for the scheduled date of implementation, it borders on the impossible to expect that recommendations—when not even commissioned—can be implemented on time.

It is also important to note that the Finance Act 2025 has armed the Union Government with the authority to decide the date of implementation of Pay Commission recommendations. This means that even if the 8th CPC is eventually constituted and submits its report, the Government retains discretionary power to postpone the date of implementation. Such a move would be catastrophic for employees and pensioners already battling relentless inflation. One cannot ignore the possibility that the recommendations due from 1st January 2026 may be delayed under one pretext or another, pushing millions into further economic uncertainty.

Adding to the unease is the passage of the Validation of Central Civil Services Pension Rules as part of the Finance Act 2025. This legislation validates the Government’s authority to make distinctions among pensioners based on factors such as Pay Commission recommendations and date of retirement, with effect from as far back as 1st June 1972. Pensioners, who built the foundations of today’s India with decades of loyal service, now live under an air of suspicion and fear that the principle of equal treatment may be diluted. The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers has rightly taken exception to this divisive provision, affirming that there must be no differentiation among pensioners—past or present.

The larger picture reveals an unsettling pattern. The same Government that refuses to restore the Old Pension Scheme, that withheld Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief for 18 months during the pandemic citing “financial constraints,” now delays the constitution of the 8th CPC despite knowing fully well the timeline required for its work. In sharp contrast, the salaries and perks of Members of Parliament and State Legislatures are revised at will, without any Commission, without any debate on affordability, and without any delay. Is the message not loud and clear—that justice is timely for lawmakers but expendable for those who serve the nation?

The Confederation has therefore issued a clarion call for agitation. It has urged organisations like CCGGOO, AIDEF, NCCPA, AISGEF, and Pensioners’ Associations to extend full support. This is not merely a bureaucratic demand—it is a call for dignity, for fairness, and for timely recognition of the contributions of employees and pensioners. The anguish is compounded when one compares the treatment meted out to employees with the preferential treatment granted to lawmakers. The People’s Representatives enjoy timely and generous revisions in salaries and allowances, often without even the fig leaf of a Commission or financial justification. Yet, those who toil in the field offices, departments, and public sector units—the backbone of governance—are compelled to live in uncertainty, anxiously waiting for a Commission that may or may not deliver on time.

The Government must realise that denial or delay of justice is the breeding ground of resentment. To keep crores of employees and pensioners in a state of prolonged suspense is neither statesmanship nor prudence; it is a recipe for alienation. A democratic Government cannot afford to alienate its own workforce, for governance itself depends upon their dedication and morale. It is time, therefore, for the Government to act with sincerity and urgency. The 8th CPC must be officially constituted without further delay, given adequate resources to complete its work, and directed to submit its recommendations within a time-bound framework. The Finance Act’s provision to arbitrarily defer the date of implementation must be reconsidered, for it erodes the credibility of the entire exercise. Above all, pensioners must be protected from any discriminatory treatment, for they have already given the best years of their lives to the service of the nation.

The message to the Government is unequivocal: crores of employees and pensioners are not expendable. They are the very hands and minds that keep India running. Delay in justice is not a technical matter—it is an assault on dignity. The Constitution of the 8th CPC is not a favour; it is a constitutional obligation, a moral necessity, and an economic imperative. Let not history record that in the age of rising prices and rising inequalities, the Government of the day chose silence over justice.

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 Link: https://odishapostepaper.com/uploads/epaper/2025-09/68b89d5dc00ac.pdf