8th Pay Commission: Are preparations underway to grant five promotions to employees? Many other benefits are also expected.
8th Pay Commission: Several issues were raised at the meeting of the National Council (Staff Side) and NC-JCM in Delhi. Several demands were made for central employees under the Eighth Pay Commission.
8th Pay Commission: Significant news is emerging regarding the Eighth Pay Commission for central employees and pensioners. The National Council (Staff Side), Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), met in the national capital on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). Several important issues were discussed, such as increasing the family unit from three to five, guaranteeing at least five promotions for employees, increasing annual increments, and reintroducing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) under the 8th Pay Commission.
Other topics discussed included preparing answers to the 18 CPC questions, increasing Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) charges from ₹1,000 per month to ₹20,000 for non-CGHS cities, and including allowances for essential services like the internet.
Employees' demands to be submitted to the JCM
Representatives from various employee organizations, including the Defense, Railways, Postal Service, Income Tax Department, Accounts and Audit, attended the meeting on Wednesday. ET quoted C. Srikumar, Secretary General of the All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF), as saying, "Attempts were made to reach a consensus on issues such as minimum basic pay, promotion policy, annual increments, and more." In the coming days, various employee associations will submit their demands related to the 8th Pay Commission to the JCM. A common memorandum will be prepared by all associations in the next 10 to 15 days.
What is the JCM?
It should be noted that the JCM (Joint Consultative Machinery) is an official forum for dialogue between the Government of India and employees. Consequently, its important role under the Eighth Pay Commission cannot be underestimated. Under this framework, the JCM's staff side is drafting employees' demands for the Eighth Pay Commission and presenting them to the government.
#8CPC को सभी केंद्रीय कर्मचारियों की तरफ से कॉमन रिप्रेजेंटेशन देने के लिए #JCM स्टाफ साइड ने अपनी बैठक कर ली है। संभवतः हफ्ते दस दिन में फाइनल रिप्रेजेंटेशन तैयार हो ही जाएगा। इस बात की संभावना जगभग जीरो ही है कि केंद्र शासित प्रदेश और केंद्रीय ऑटोनॉमस बॉडीज के कर्मचारियों के… pic.twitter.com/FJeEr9ILLo
— Dr Manjeet Singh Patel (@ManjeetIMOPS) February 25, 2026
Meeting now scheduled for March 10th
Manjeet Singh Patel, representing the Central Government Employees Confederation at the NC-JCM, stated that once the JCM has prepared a common memorandum regarding employees' demands, it will be submitted to Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, Chairperson of the 8th Pay Commission. The report also stated that a meeting has been scheduled for March 10th to discuss the common memorandum. It is expected to be sent to the 8th Pay Commission within the next 1-2 weeks. Issues such as minimum pay, fitment factor, and pensioners are in focus at the NC-JCM meeting.
