8th Pay Commission minimum salary formula: How the Staff Side's suggestion differs from 7th CPC

The TOR also require the 8th CPC to "work out an emolument structure conducive to attracting talent to Government service, promoting efficiency, accountability and responsibility in the work culture." However, it doesn't specify any approach, method, or formula for determining the minimum pay or salary.

The Staff-Side's proposal emphasizes the need to consider not only food and basic needs in the minimum wage formula, but also present-day requirements such as "essential technological day-to-day requirements," while calculating the revised minimum pay.

How is it different from the 7th CPC?

The TOR of the 7th CPC was similar to the 8th CPC. It directed the 7th Pay Commission to "examine, review, evolve and recommend changes that are desirable and feasible regarding the principles that should govern the emoluments structure including pay, allowances and other facilities/benefits, in cash or kind, having regard to rationalization and simplification therein as well as the specialized needs of various Departments, agencies and services..."

While determining the minimum pay, the 7th CPC considered the norms set by the 15th Indian Labour Conference (ILC) in 1957.

As per the ILC norms, a need-based minimum wage for a single worker should cover all the needs of a worker’s family, including the employee, spouse, and two children below the age of 14.

The 7th CPC was of the view that the ILC norms, along with other supplements (the entire set of seven components), was the "best approach" to estimating the minimum pay as it was "a need-based" wage calculation that directly costs the requirements, normatively prescribed to ensure a healthy and dignified standard of living.

The minimum wage calculation based on ILC norms, however, doesn't consider expenses for essential technological day-to-day requirements like mobile, wifi and internet.

The key items considered by the 7th CPC as per the ILC norms were basic food (rice/wheat, dal, raw vegetables, green vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar/jaggery, edible oil, fish, meat, egg, detergents, clothing, fuel, electricity, water charges, marriage, recreation, festivals, skill training, and housing.