8th Central Pay Commission: Trade Unions Meet FM Sitharaman, Seek Salary, Pension Revisions - Update

Trade unions have urged the government to raise the minimum pension under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month. They also suggested linking it to the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) for future adjustments. The demands were conveyed to the Union Finance Ministry during a pre-budget meeting with FM Nirmala Sithraman.

“The minimum pension under EPS-95 should be increased from Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 5,000 monthly as a first step and subsequently linked to the VDA (Variable Dearness Allowance)," Pawan Kumar, Organising Secretary, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

8th Pay Commission: Trade Unions' Demands

Union leaders stressed the need to immediately set up the 8th Pay Commission to revise government employees' salaries, as the last review occurred over a decade ago in 2014 with the 7th Pay Commission.

To fund social security programs, unions proposed imposing an additional 2% tax on the super-rich. This would help support informal workers and extend social security benefits.

Unions strongly opposed the privatization and corporatization of public sector undertakings (PSUs), urging the government to halt these initiatives to protect workers' rights and job security.

8th pay Commission: Reforms And Social Security

Unions recommended raising the income tax exemption limit to Rs 10 lakh annually and suggested that pension income should be tax-free to reduce the financial burden on retirees.

Demands were made for a dedicated social security scheme for gig workers and formalizing minimum wages for agricultural laborers. They also called for social security benefits to be extended to these groups.

“Trade union leaders also demanded an increase in income tax exemption limit to Rs 10 lakh per annum, social security scheme for gig workers, and restoration of old pension scheme (OPS) for government employees," the PTI report said.

8th pay Commission: Separate Budget Allocation

A special budget allocation for the Employees Provident Fund and Employees State Insurance Corporation was proposed to enhance social security for unorganized sector workers.

“Separate budget allocation for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to provide social security benefits to workers in the unorganised sector," said  Deepak Jaiswal, National President, NFITU.

Upcoming Budget Presentation

The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman , will present the Budget for 2025-26 on February 1, where these demands will be considered for potential inclusion. 
The Union Finance Ministry has recently indicated in the Rajya Sabha that there are no plans to establish an 8th Central Pay Commission as of now.

This comes at a time when central government employees have been pressing for the formation of the new Central Pay Commission. In the recently concluded Winter Session of the Parliament, the government had made clear that the 8th Central Pay Comission has not been formed as of now.