7th Pay Commission salary update: Hike in basic pay in the offing, 18-months DA arrears of Rs 2 lakh coming at one go?

New Delhi: 7th Pay Commission latest news: The Narendra Modi government may bring some more good news for the central government employees in the coming days that will have a direct impact on their salary.

According to reports in the media, the Modi government may announce a hike in the fitment factor of central and state employees which will in turn push the minimum wages of central employees higher. 

The central government employees unions have long been demanding for hiking  minimum pay of Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 and fitment factor be raised from 2.57 times to 3.68 times. According to media reports, the fitment factor of central employees can be decided soon. This means that there will be a big increase in the basic salary of the government employees.

If the government makes announcement regarding the hike in fitment factor of central employees, then their salary will consequently increase. In fact, with the increase in fitment factor, the minimum wage will also increase. Employees are currently getting salary under fitment factor on the basis of 2.57 percent, which if increased to 3.68 percent, there will be an increase of Rs 8,000 in the minimum salary of the employees. This means the minimum pay of the central government employees will be hiked from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000.

7TH Pay Commission Fitment factor to push up the Dearness Allowance?

If the basic pay increases from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000, the dearness allowance will also increase automatically. Dearness Allowance is calculated by multiplying the DA rate by the basic pay. (DA) is currently equal to 31 percent of the basic pay. Hence, if the basic salary increases, dearness allowance will also automatically increase.

Check out this assumptive salary calculation post the hike in fitment factor under 7th Pay Commission

If the fitment factor is raised to 3.68, the basic salary of the employees will become Rs 26,000. Right now, if your minimum salary is Rs 18,000, then excluding allowances, you will be getting Rs 46,260 (18,000 X 2.57 = 46,260) according to the 2.57 fitment factor.

Now, if the fitment factor is 3.68, then your salary will be Rs 95,680 (26000X3.68 = 95,680).

The Union Cabinet had in June 2017 approved recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission with 34 modifications. The new scales of pay provided for entry-level basic pay going up from Rs 7,000 per month to Rs 18,000, while at the highest level i.e. Secretary, went up from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. For Class 1 officers, the starting salary was at Rs 56,100.

Will Central govt employees get Rs 2 lakh as 18-months DA arrears in one go?

Meanwhile, several media reports have also been reporting that the Union Cabinet is contemplating to take the matter for discussion. A Zee Hindi report, quoting Shiv Gopal Mishra of the National Council of JCM, had previously mentioned that the DA arrears of Level-1 employees range from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. Whereas, for Level-13 (7th CPC basic pay scale Rs 1,23,100 to Rs 2,15,900) or Level-14 (pay scale), the DA arrears in the hands of an employee will be Rs 1,44,200-2,18,200 that will be paid, quoted the reports.

The report further adds that issues related to arrears were discussed between the National Council of JCM, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Finance Minister. However, no concrete answer was received. The employees are still adamant on the demand and talks are on with the government reportedly. However, it is expected that soon this can be discussed with the Cabinet Secretary. According to the annual report of the Department of Expenditure, there are a total of 48 lakh central employees in the country and about 60 lakh pensioners.