8th Pay Commission: Will the fitment factor for salary hikes be in the 3-5 range? Experts don't think so

THe 8th telephone exchange pay off charge is preparing to bow its recommendations regarding revisions in salaries, allowances and pension off structures of government employees to the Centre.In regards to this, the CPC is touring the country and holding consultations with various stakeholders, and has urged the submission of memorandums or suggestions from central government employees on its website.One of the aspects that employee unions and stakeholders have been vocal about is the fitment factor, which plays a key role in the revision of basic salary. Most organisations have demanded a fitment factor of 3 to 5.Also Read | 8th Pay Commission: What is 5-fitment formula that could hike salaries by 400%, how to calculateWhat is a fitment factor?Simply put, fitment factor is a multiplier used by the Government of India to revise the basic pay and pensions of Central employees when a new pay commission is constituted.When a new pay commission is constituted, the government does not determine a new salary for every job role distinctively. It takes their existing basic pay and multiplies it by a uniform factor, which is known as the fitment factor.For example, in the last (7th) pay commission, the government had set a fitment factor of 2.57, after taking into account aspects like inflation and cost of living. To put this into practice, take a government employee who had a basic pay of ₹10,000 under the 6th pay commission. Their revised basic salary under the 7th pay commission would be their original basic pay, multiplied with the fitment factor. Therefore, their basic pay under the 7th pay commission would have come up to ₹25,700 (10,000 x 2.57).Also Read | 7th Pay Commission: 87% PU-affiliated colleges fail to hike teachers’ pay even after 3 yearsFitment factor under 8th CPC: What do experts say?The employee unions and organisations have demanded a fitment factor between the range of 3 to 5 under the 8th pay commission, says a Live Hindustan report.However, experts on the matter have suggested that such a huge hike is unlikely, given that a difference of even 0.1% translates to billions of rupees in the government's budget. According to a report by Live Hindustan, experts predict a fitment factor of 2.64. In case this is implemented, employees with original basic pay of ₹20,000 would now see it exceed to over ₹50,000.Experts further said that even if the fitment factor is lesser than what had been demanded by the government employees, it would still reflect as an effective increase of 15 to 25 per cent in their basic salaries.The 8th pay commission has been given 18 months to submit its report. Meanwhile, the commission has also extended its deadline for the submission of memorandums and suggestions till June 15, 2026.