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New Delhi: The central government in January announced the setting up of the 8th Pay Commission. After the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission the salary and pension of over  1 crore  central government employees and pensioners will be revised. Since the pay panel announcement speculations are rife that the new pay panel may settle for a fitment factor in the range of 2.57 to 2.86. It is important to note that the 2.57 was the fitment factor was adopted by the 7th Pay Commission and witnessed the minimum basic salary rise from Rs 7000 to Rs 18000 – a 2.57 times jump. According to the reports the Staff Side of the National Council Joint Consultative Machinery (NC JCM) has sought a fitment factor higher than 2.57 – one that was fixed by the 7th Pay Commission. The NC JCM Staff Side is a group of representatives who negotiate with the government on behalf of central government employees. This year the Staff Side put forth as many as 15 demands to be included in the Terms of Reference (ToR) which is expected to be rolled out this month before the 8th Pay Panel starts working. Among its various demands the Staff Side wants the pay panel to examine and revise the pay allowances pensions and retirement benefits for central government employees including industrial and non-industrial staff All India Services Defence and Paramilitary forces Gramin Dak Sevaks and other categories. What happened when the 7th Pay Commission came? In 2015 when the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission came the Staff Side demanded the hike in minimum wage to Rs 26000. This was about 3.7 times more than the minimum wage of Rs 7000 at that time. The Staff Side said that this amount was decided on the basis of the recommendations of the 15th Indian Labour Conference and the needs of the common employees. But the commission did not accept these demands completely. They were calculated on the basis of the Aykroyd formula and Rs 18000 minimum wage and a fitment factor of 2.57 was decided. What happened to the 6th Pay Commission? To recall when the 6th Pay Commission came the staff side had demanded a minimum wage of Rs 10000. Their argument was that if public sector employees can work on a certain salary then central government employees should not be treated differently. However the commission dismissed this demand as not based on facts and initially calculated the minimum basic pay to be ₹5479. This amount was later revised slightly upward—first to ₹6600 and eventually to ₹7000.