8th pay commission: Here's how unions, stakeholders can apply for meetings in Chennai, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Jaipur

The 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) is in its consultation stage now, with plans to interact with employee and pensioner associations, federations, unions of central government, UT employees and other stakeholders across the country.

Chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai , the commission includes Pankaj Jain, a former IAS, as Member-Secretary, and Professor Pulak Ghosh, tenured Professor of Finance, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, as a Member of the Commission. Its official Terms of Reference (ToR) were released late last year.

Notably, the panel closed submission of suggestions on 15 June and of data on 31 July. Further, it has invited applications till 31 August, for 23 full-time and part-time consultants on contract basis at various experience levels and pay scales.

Since March, the commission has conducted multiple state visits to meet employee representative groups, unions and stakeholders to collect and analyse data before deciding on pay, allowances, and pension for employees and pensioners. Amid this consultation stage, the panel notified a number of meetings to be held in August and September, including dates in Chennai, Puducherry, Chandigarh , Jaipur, Mumbai.

While the commission did not release an agenda for the visits, these meetings are expected to feature discussions and deliberations on several recurring themes raised during discussions and in memorandums submitted by prominent unions.

These meetings are significant as suggestions made by representatives are expected to play an important role in shaping the commission's deliberations. These unions and groups collectively represent a large number of employees and pensioners, including defence and railway staff.

The commission recently concluded a four-day session in Delhi between 7 and 10 August and has scheduled meetings in this and the next month, in Chandigarh, Chennai, Jaipur, Mumbai and Puducherry.

Notably, the links seeking appointment are available for stakeholders, unions, and associations of central government or UTs, who submitted their memorandum and have not yet interacted with the commission.