The 8th Pay Commission recently concluded its meeting in Bengaluru on 8 October. Now the commission is gearing up for another set of key meetings in Mumbai starting from 22 October. During these meetings, prominent employee unions and associations have highlighted their grievances and views related to aspects such as fitment factor multiplier, salary revision, challenges of inflation, employee morale, and a host of other issues.
On similar lines, the railway technical supervisors, through their earlier submitted memorandum, have sought a higher fitment factor for senior-level employees under the 8th pay commission. They have argued that a ‘uniform multiplier’ does not adequately reflect the differences in job complexities, responsibilities, technical requirements and safety-related duties and obligations.
Due to the same reasons, the Indian Railways Technical Supervisors’ Association (IRTSA), in its memorandum to the 8th Central Pay Commission, has proposed a concept of ‘graded fitment factor.’
In this, the applied fitment factor is not uniform across, but it ranges from 2.92 for Level 1 employees to 4.38 for Levels 17 and 18. IRTSA has also demanded an increase in the annual increment from 3% to 5% of basic pay.
Why does IRTSA want different fitment factors across pay levels?
According to IRTSA, previous pay commissions have not adequately evaluated and addressed the responsibilities associated with different posts. The association argues that technical and safety-category employees are often equated with non-technical staff, despite differences in job requirements, hazards, daily life challenges, and working hours. It has also highlighted that field-based technical employees work 48 hours a week, compared with 45 hours for office-based supporting staff.
IRTSA has also proposed revising minimum-pay calculations by considering 4.6 consumption units per family instead of three. It also wants expenses such as bottled drinking water, internet charges and health insurance premiums to be included.
8th Pay Commission: Fitment factors proposed by IRTSA
The association’s proposed fitment factors across the 18 pay levels are as follows:
7th CPC pay levels
Proposed fitment factor
Levels 1–3
2.92
Levels 4–8
3.50
Levels 9–13
3.80
Levels 14–16
4.09
Levels 17–18
4.38
Note: These are IRTSA’s recommendations, not the approved 8th Pay Commission’s pay revisions.
The association has also sought promotional increments equivalent to two annual increments, alongside its demand for a 5% annual increment. It argues that revising salaries only once every 10 years erodes employees’ purchasing power. That is why these changes are important in order to adequately address the inflation-related challenges that serving employees and pensioners face on a daily basis.
What the proposal means for employees
IRTSA’s central argument is that pay revision should account for the increasing responsibilities associated with higher pay levels rather than applying the same multiplier across the pay matrix.
However, these demands remain proposals submitted to the 8th Pay Commission for now. The final fitment factors, increment rates and revised pay structure will depend on the 8th Pay Commission’s recommendations and the government’s decisions.
Furthermore, the 8th Pay Commission was constituted on 3 November 2025. It is a three-member temporary body headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, mandated to submit its final report to the central government within 18 months of its constitution, as per the Terms of Reference (ToR). Accordingly, the final report is expected to be tentatively tabled by May-June 2027, and after that, only the central government will review and release the official recommendations.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and covers IRTSA’s proposals, which are not approved recommendations. For complete details, refer to IRTSA’s official memorandum. Furthermore, check the official announcements on the 8th Pay Commission website for confirmed decisions.