8th Pay Commission: New demands regarding Dearness Allowance; call to revise the old formula for ration and medical expenses

8th Pay Commission: Ever since the approval for the constitution of the 8th Pay Commission, various employee organizations have been submitting memoranda and presenting new demands to the government. In this sequence, AIDEF has also recently put forward some new demands.

8th Pay Commission: Since the approval for the 8th Pay Commission, numerous employee organizations have been submitting memoranda to the government, raising various demands—ranging from changes in salary allowances to revisions in pension formulas. Recently, another central employee organization has asked the Commission to revise the formula for Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR), a matter that the Commission will now consider.

What are AIDEF's demands?

Recently, AIDEF (All India Defence Employees Federation) submitted a memorandum to the 8th Pay Commission demanding a change in the current method of determining Dearness Allowance (DA) for employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners. The Federation argues that a significant portion of the income of low-paid employees and pensioners is spent on essentials such as food, medicines, medical treatment, education, and house rent. Consequently, the inflation rate they experience is far higher than the figures reported by the government.

Difficulties faced by pensioners

In the memorandum, AIDEF specifically highlighted the challenges faced by pensioners. They noted that the elderly have to spend substantial amounts every month on health insurance, medicines, medical treatment, and care. If the prices of these essentials rise sharply, the existing DR system should align with their actual expenses to ensure they do not face financial hardship.

Suggestion by the organization

In light of these issues faced by employees and pensioners, the organization has suggested creating a separate 'Cost of Living Index' to address these concerns. Along with this, a demand has been raised to give greater weightage to expenses related to the care of the elderly when determining salaries and pensions, and to incorporate changing spending habits into the fitment factor.

It is worth noting that DA and DR are currently calculated based on the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI-IW). The organization is demanding a change to this very method.