8th Pay Commission latest update: Key central employee body lists 9 demands, including pension issues, deadline extension, women welfare

As the 8^th Pay Commission sought stake holders’ response through 18-question questionnaire related to pay, pension and job-related issues, NC-JCM (Staff side), the umbrella body of central government employee unions, has demanded the 8^th CPC to consider nine points to be included to the question format before it submits the joint memorandum of all employee bodies.

In a letter dated April 1, 2026, Shiva Gopal Mishra, secretary, National Council (Staff Side)-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), wrote to Pankaj Jain, member secretary, 8th Central Pay Commission, that these nine concerns are being widely expressed by the stake holders and require necessary modifications to ensure a more inclusive, comprehensive and effective submission system.

Some of the key inclusions that NC-JCM wants in the feedback questionnaire are- extending the deadline for the submission of the separate memorandum on department-specific issues, inclusion of pensioners’ rights, provisions for submitting views for review of NPS/UPS and for the restoration of Old Pension Scheme, including welfare provisions of women employees, increasing the response word limit, etc.

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NC-JCM is asking the 8^th Pay Commission to consider these nine points before it submits the joint memorandum of 8^th CPC suggestions. The joint memorandum is being prepared with consultations of different central government employee unions.

Nine demands of NC-JCM from 8th Pay Commission are

1. Provisions for submitting views for review of NPS/UPS and restoration of Old Pension Scheme

NC-JCM writes that employees who are governed under National Pension System (NPS) and who have opted for Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) are facing innumerable problems/ grievance and issues. It has written that government employees should not be subjected to a contributory Pension Scheme.

The employee body has further written that the popular demand of employees is to restore non-contributory Pension Scheme under CCS (Pension) Rules 1972, (now 2021). Therefore, a provision may be made to submit the stake holders’ views in this regard, says NC-JCM.

2. Inclusion of pensioners’ issues

The employee umbrella body further writes considering the significant role and concerns of pensioners, a dedicated provision should be made to specifically address pension-related issues, including retirement benefits, revisions and parity in pension.

NC-JCM has suggested restoring the commuted value of pension, enhancement of pension and other welfare measures.

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3. Welfare provisions for women employees

NC-JCM writes to the 8^th CPC that a separate section should be incorporated to address issues related to women employees. These issues are related to safety, maternity benefits, menstrual leave, CCL issues, workplace equity and welfare schemes.

4. Department-specific issues

The employee body has pointed out different departments under the Government of India face unique problems/challenges and operational and cadre-specific issues.

Therefore, a provision should be made to allow submissions on department specific concerns for better policy formulation, says NC-JCM in its letter.

5. Extension of response submission deadline

NC-JCM says the date for the submission of a separate memoranda on department-specific issues may be extended up to May 31, 2026, since the Staff Side of NC (JCM), federations, unions and associations requires some time for consultation with their constituent organisations/affiliates who are spread over the length and the breadth of the country.

6. Response word limit should be increased

The employee body has written that the current limit of 3500 characters, which is equivalent to 500 words, is insufficient to adequately present their detailed views, logic, data and justifications on complex matters.

NC-JCM has requested the 8^th CPC to increase the limit to at least up to 1,000 words for each theme to enable meaningful and complete submissions.

However, C Srikumar, general secretary, All India Defence Employees' Federation (AIDEF), one of the key units in NC-JCM, in a circular to its members informed that the 8th CPC has increased the limits from 3,500 characters to 10,000 for each theme and has also increased the attachment of document size from 2 MB to 6 MB.

7. Provisions to sub questions/sub titles under the 9 themes

The employee body writes the structured format of the questionnaire does not clearly facilitate responses to all sub questions/sub titles under each main question/theme.

It has demanded a structured provision should be made to ensure that the respondents can address each sub question systematically without any restrictions.

8. Enhancement of attachment size limit

NC-JCM writes the current attachment size limit of 2 MB is restrictive, especially when submitting detailed documents, reports and data annexures.

The employee body has requested that the limit be increased to at least 10 MB to facilitate comprehensive submissions.

9. Provisions for submitting memorandum through E-mail and hard copy

The employee body says in addition to the online submission of the memorandum, stake holders, specially the Staff Side of NC-JCM, federations, unions, associations should be allowed to submit their representation via an E-mail and through a hard copy. This will ensure accessibility, reduce technical barriers and provide an alternative mode of communication, NC-JCM writes.