Big update for Central govt staff: 8th pay commission gears up

New Delhi: Central government employee and pensioner organisations will meet in the capital on February 25, 2026, to draft a common charter of demands for the 8th Pay Commission, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).

The meeting will be held under the National Council (Staff Side) of the Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), the official platform representing central government employees in discussions with the Union government. The office of the 8th Pay Commission has already been set up in New Delhi, signalling that the long-awaited pay revision exercise is now moving into its preparatory phase after months of anticipation.

Also read: 8th Pay Commission: January DA revision—Here’s how much your DA could increase

Preparing the Common Charter of demands

The primary objective of the meeting is to draft a unified memorandum of demands covering pay revision and service-related issues. This document will later be submitted to the Pay Commission once it becomes fully operational.

The drafting committee will meet at NC-JCM’s office at Ferozeshah Road in New Delhi, with deliberations expected to continue for nearly a week. Representatives will discuss how the memorandum should be structured and which priority issues must be included to present a consolidated employee position.

Also read: Salary, pension, DA, DR: What to expect from the 8th Pay Commission

Employee and pensioner bodies from major government departments are expected to participate, including those representing the Railways, Defence services, Postal department, Income Tax and other central government services. The broad participation aims to ensure that concerns across ministries and departments are reflected in the final charter.

Deliberations will primarily focus on matters linked to pay revision. Likely discussion points include minimum wage benchmarks, basic pay restructuring, fitment factors for salary calculation, allowances, and service conditions. Multiple proposals submitted by recognised associations will be reviewed to arrive at a single, agreed-upon set of demands.

Once the NC-JCM finalises its draft memorandum, the 8th Pay Commission will begin formal consultations. It will invite suggestions from central and state government bodies and other stakeholders within a stipulated timeline. After submissions close, the commission will hold individual hearings with stakeholder groups to evaluate and clarify demands.

The Pay Commission will then conduct its own financial and administrative assessments before submitting final recommendations to the Union government. As in previous pay commission exercises, this consultative process is expected to take several months.