Big demands have come forward from the central government teachers regarding the 8th Pay Commission. Progressive Teachers Nyay Manch (PSNM) in its memorandum submitted to the Commission has demanded many important reforms related to salary, allowances, pension and promotion. The organization says that in the current economic circumstances, a major change in the income and facilities of teachers is necessary.
PSNM has demanded to increase the minimum basic salary for Level-1 (Group D) employees from ₹ 50,000 to ₹ 60,000. Whereas the minimum salary for entry level teacher (Level-6) has been proposed at ₹ 1,34,500. Along with this, a demand has been made to increase the fitment factor from 2.62 to 3.83. The organization says that this will lead to a substantial increase in the salaries of the employees.
The teachers' organization has demanded to merge the dearness allowance (DA) into the basic salary when it reaches 50%. Also, it has been suggested to calculate DA up to two decimal places. There has been a demand to increase the Children's Education Allowance (CEA) to ₹ 7,000 per month per child, which is currently around ₹ 2,800.
PSNM has proposed to increase the House Rent Allowance (HRA) to 12%, 24% and 36% from the existing 10%, 20% and 30%. Apart from this, there has been a demand to increase the transport allowance to 12-15% of the basic salary and fix the minimum at ₹ 9,000. Besides, a suggestion of giving a new digital allowance of ₹ 2,000 per month for digital works is also included.
The organization has demanded to give 14 casual leaves, 30 earned leaves and 20 medical leaves annually. There is a proposal to increase the earned leave encashment at the time of retirement from 300 days to 400 days. Apart from this, there has been a demand to increase the minimum bonus from ₹ 6,908 to ₹ 27,640. It has also been suggested to implement 100% cashless medical facility (both OPD and IPD) for teachers.
PSNM has demanded re-implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and suggested abolition of NPS/UPS. Apart from this, it has been said that the retirement age will be increased from 60 to 65 years. It has been proposed to change the MACP scheme for promotion and give upgradation at 6, 12, 18 and 24 years. Overall, the teachers organization has demanded comprehensive reforms from the 8th Pay Commission. He believes that these changes will strengthen the financial condition of teachers and the education system will also benefit.
