8th Pay Commission: Finance Ministry finally addresses fitment factor in Parliament
Govt says the Commission will devise its own procedure and is not required to keep the Centre informed about its deliberations
The government has addressed the widely-debated fitment factor under the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) in Parliament for the first time.
It has made it clear that the commission would choose its own process and that the government is not informed of its internal discussions, even though it has not addressed the particular demands made by labor unions.
In response to questions about whether employee unions had requested changes to the fitment factor, such as a request to take into account five family units rather than three, the Rajya Sabha gave clarification.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in response to the question, stated that on 3 November, 2025, the government announced the resolution and Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Central Pay Commission.
The minister stated, “The Resolution dated 03.11.2025 provides that the 8th Central Pay Commission will devise its own procedure.”
Furthermore, Javed Ali Khan, a Rajya Sabha MP, asked as to whether employee unions had called for raising the number of family members—including parents of employees—from three to five in order to determine the fitment factor under the 8th Pay Commission. In addition, he requested information about the Commission’s meetings, employee union consultations, and the government’s reaction to these requests.
However, the government did not pass many remarks on the merits of the demand.
Rather, the Finance Ministry said that the Commission’s Terms of Reference do not mandate that it notify the government of its developments, consultations, or proposals under consideration.
The minister stated, “The Commission’s Terms of Reference do not provide that the Commission would keep the Government up to date on its progress, the nature of recommendations being contemplated, or on its consultation process during its deliberations.”
This is why the government stated that it has no information about how many meetings the Commission has held, how many employee unions have been consulted thus far, or whether these demands were discussed.
What is fitment factor?
When a new pay commission’s recommendations are put into practice, the fitment factor is the multiplier used to revise central government employees’ base pay. It is one of the most highly monitored areas of any pay commission because it has a direct impact on salaries, pensions, and retirement benefits.
