8th pay commission
Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan assured the NC-JCM during the annual meeting last week that the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s recommendations regarding increasing pension every five years will be sent to the 8th Pay Commission. This information has been received from a letter issued by the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery (Staff Side) to its members and associated organizations. This was just one of the many pension-related demands made by the staff side to the central government during the 49th annual meeting of NC-JCM. Let us also tell you which five problems related to pension have been solved in this meeting.
1. Increase in pension every 5 years
The staff side has been demanding a change in pension every five years for some time now, because the current method of pension change during Pay Commission does not help pensioners much in coping with inflation. Last week, he raised the issue in a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary and other senior government officials in the capital. The Cabinet Secretary has assured the staff side that he will send the issue to the 8th Pay Commission.
2. The entire pension of the dependents of the deceased employee/pensioner should not be reduced.
The staff side has demanded that the family pension should not be reduced to 30 percent of the notional salary of a deceased government employee or pensioner. The Cabinet Secretary said that this demand will also be sent to the 8th Pay Commission. Family pension is given to the widow/widower, and if there is no widow/widower, then to the children of the government employee. While the full pension is 50 percent of the employee’s average salary of the last 12 months plus dearness allowance, the family pension is only 30 percent of that salary.
3. Remove the condition of income certificate in family pension for physically handicapped dependent children.
The staff side of NC-JCM also argues that ‘no income’ certificate should not be sought from the medical board or civil authorities from the physically handicapped/disabled children eligible for family pension, as the concerned authorities do not issue such certificates. He said that they should be given family pension without demanding any certificate. The letter claims that the Cabinet Secretary has directed the Pension Department to investigate the matter and take a rational and practical decision.
4. Old Pension Scheme for certain employees recruited on or after December 22, 2003
NPS is applicable as a pension scheme for Central Government employees who have joined service on or after the date of issue of National Pension System (NPS) notification on December 22, 2003, with a few exceptions. However, the staff side of NC JCM has demanded that the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) should be applicable to some employees who were recruited on or before December 22, 2003. The staff side has categorized them as follows:
(i) A blank clearance/release letter issued by the concerned Ministry or Department can be treated as notification, if it is issued before December 22, 2003. The staff side has advocated extension of OPS to a certain percentage of Central Government employees who were recruited against vacancies whose notification was issued before the date of issue of NPS notification on December 22, 2003. The staff side argued that such anomalies should be rectified and employees recruited against vacancies released before December 22, 2003, should be brought under the ambit of the old pension scheme.
(ii) Employees recruited on compassionate grounds should also be brought under the ambit of OPS, if the date of their application for such post was before December 22, 2003. The Cabinet Secretary agreed that in case of appointments on compassionate grounds, if a candidate fulfills the eligibility criteria such as qualification, he had applied before December 22, 2003, and his appointment was also after January 1, 2004, he should be eligible for OPS.
However, with regard to condition (i), the Cabinet Secretary directed the staff side to submit a detailed note. The Secretary of the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare (DOP&PW) agreed with the Cabinet Secretary and said that demand (ii) would be implemented within a week.
5. Family pension for widow and dependent daughter-in-law
The employee side has demanded amendment in the definition of ‘family’, so that widow and dependent daughter-in-law can also be included in it for claiming family pension. The Cabinet Secretary has asked the Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T) to investigate the matter in consultation with the Law Ministry.
