Great news is on the horizon for employees as we step into the new year! The central government has given the green light for the 8th Pay Commission, and the AICPI data for November has confirmed an increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA). Additionally, there’s an important update regarding the 18-month pending DA arrears.
A significant decision was made to suspend the dearness allowance from January 2020 to June 2021, meaning that DA and Dearness Relief (DR) were not provided during that period. However, there’s now a chance that employees could receive these overdue DA arrears this year.
During the pandemic, the central government halted the 18 months of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief Allowance. Despite this, employees and pensioners have been persistently advocating for the release of these pending amounts. The receipt of these outstanding DA arrears would greatly benefit millions of employees and pensioners. Shiv Gopal Mishra, the secretary of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees, has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the pending DA arrears.
One of the primary requests from central government employees was the outcome of the 8th Pay Commission, which has now been approved by the Modi administration. As a result, employees are hopeful for a favorable resolution regarding their DA arrears as well. There are also expectations that the 18-month overdue DA arrears will be disbursed soon. Media reports suggest that these pending arrears will be provided to employees within this year.
Employee unions have been vocal about their demands for the outstanding DA arrears for central employees. Union leader Mukesh Singh has called on the central government to release the 18-month overdue DA arrears and has reached out to the finance minister to emphasize the employees’ requests. However, in a recent Lok Sabha session, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that it would not be feasible to pay the pending DA arrears due to the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.
Central government employees stand to gain over Rs 2 lakh if they receive the 18 months of pending Dearness Allowance (DA). For Level-1 employees, the DA arrears could range between Rs 11,880 and Rs 37,554. Meanwhile, Level-13 employees are anticipated to receive arrears that fall between Rs 1,23,100 and Rs 2,15,000.