Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2024–25 on July 23. The Cabinet Secretary has received a significant proposal from the central government employee union that comprises seven key demands.
In a letter dated July 6, the Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers outlined their demands for the upcoming budget:
To push for these demands, the confederation plans to hold a demonstration on July 19 during lunch hours.
S B Yadav, general secretary of the Confederation, expressed that they wanted the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission to start from January 2026, emphasizing the need for the commission to be constituted immediately.
The central government is anticipated to announce a DA hike for employees under the existing 7th Pay Commission in the first half of September, which will be retroactive from July 1, 2024. Employees are expecting a 3-4% increase in the upcoming DA hike.
When asked if the government could increase DA beyond the 50% threshold of DA as a percentage of basic pay, a labor affairs expert confirmed that the government could indeed increase the DA beyond 50%. The expert noted that during the 4th Pay Commission, the DA had reached as high as 170%, and the government had provided interim relief as well.