look news india
New Delhi. The expectations of the central employees regarding the formation of the 8th Pay Commission have now started rising. Along with the salary increase, employee organizations have now intensified their demand for radical changes in the existing ceilings of bonus, provident fund (PF) and gratuity. Organizations argue that there is no coordination between the decades-old rules and the current inflation. If the government accepts these demands, not only will the take-home salary of the employees increase, but the fund received at the time of retirement can also double.
Question raised on old limits of bonus and PF
Employees’ organizations have said in a memorandum submitted to the government that the age-old base of ₹7,000 is still considered for calculating the bonus. In today’s time when the minimum wage is much higher than this, getting bonus on this limited basis is unfair to the employees. Similarly, there has been a demand to abolish the mandatory basic salary limit of ₹ 15,000 in EPF. Employees say that PF contribution should be based on actual basic and DA so that adequate corpus can be accumulated for retirement.
Gratuity limit: Proposal to increase from ₹20 lakh to ₹40 lakh
Under the current rules, the maximum limit of gratuity for central employees is fixed at ₹20 lakh. This limit has become a major hurdle for employees with long service and high pay scales. The employee organizations have demanded that:
maximum limit of gratuity Increase from ₹20 lakh to ₹30-40 lakh Let’s do.
Or this ceiling should be removed completely so that full benefits can be given on the basis of actual salary and years of service.
[Image showing comparison of current vs proposed Gratuity and PF limits]Why is it necessary to change these rules?
According to experts, there has been a lot of improvement in the salaries of employees since the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, but the limits related to social security and retirement benefits still remain on the old structure.
Effect of inflation: The cost of living has increased manifold compared to 10-15 years ago.
Pay Discrepancy: Employees receiving high salaries are not able to get the full benefits of PF and gratuity because their calculation stops at a certain limit.
Retirement Planning: The expansion of limits will help ensure future financial security of employees.
Government’s stance: challenge of expenditure and balance
Although the employee organizations have formally conveyed their demands to the government, the Finance Ministry has not yet issued any official statement on this. The biggest challenge before the government is to control the additional financial burden on the exchequer. It is believed that these demands can be included in the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission in a phased manner.