7th pay commission alert! Dearness allowance talks delayed, when will you get your arrears?

The central government employees will have to wait a little longer for their Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears as part of the hike in the 7th pay commission pay matrix.

New Delhi: The central government employees waiting for their Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears as part of the hike in the 7th pay commission pay matrix will, unfortunately, have to wait a little longer. 

The reason behind the delay is that the talks between the National Council of JCM and central government officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) have delayed, according to a report by Mint.

The discussion that will pave the way for the arrears of millions of central government employees was scheduled for the last week of May 2021, but got postponed due to the rising Covid-19 cases in India. 

The 7th Pay Commission talks to disburse the three instalments of DA arrears, i.e. of January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, are yet to happen. It is important to note that the government sets DA based on average inflation in 6 months. 

The average inflation rate for July-December 2020 was around 3.5 per cent, according to the AICPI. Therefore, the DA for January to June 2021 would be at least 4 per cent. 

Under the 7th Pay Commission, the Dearness Allowance of the central government employees will be raised from 17 per cent to 28 per cent from July 1. In addition to the increase in the Dearness Allowance from July 1, the EPF and gratuity are also all set to increase from the next month. EPF is usually 12 per cent of basic salary and dearness allowance.