Will central govt employees get 18-month DA arrears of COVID period? Hopes rise after 8th Pay Commission nod
Central government employees hope for the release of 18-month DA arrears frozen during COVID-19, following the approval of the 8th Pay Commission and ahead of Budget 2025.
Written by Mithilesh Jha
January 18, 2025 18:34 IST
Will central govt employees get 18-month DA arrears of COVID period? Hopes rise after 8th Pay Commission nod
With the Centre recently agreeing to the central government employees’ demand for the 8th Pay Commission, will it now address their call to release the dearness allowance (DA) arrears frozen during COVID-19?
The DA is typically revised twice a year, in January and July. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the Centre withheld three DA hikes spanning 18 months, from January 2020 to June 2021. The stated reason for freezing these DA installments was the financial pressure on government resources.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2025, the Staff Side of the National Council Joint Consultative Machinery (NC JCM), representing the central government employees in the country, recently wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking the release of the DA arrears of 18 months, among other demands.
The Centre introduced the JCM to promote harmonious relations and cooperation between the government in its capacity as employer and the general body of employees in matters of common concern.
18 months DA/DR arrears be paid back to employees and pensioners: NC JCM
In a letter dated January 10, Gopal Mishra, Secretary, NC JCM, said, “We have been demanding to the government that, in accordance with the judgements of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and also considering the fact that the economic conditions of the country are at a satisfactory level, the 18-month DA/DR arrears due to the central government employees and pensioners, which were frozen during the COVID-19 pandemic period, may please be paid back to the employees and pensioners.”
In his letter, Mishra also urged the Modi government to set up the 8th Pay Commission, which finally received the Union Cabinet’s approval on January 16. The formation of the pay panel was one of the key demands of the NC JCM. With its approval, employees now hope their other demands will also be addressed.
What are other demands of government employees from FM Sitharaman in Budget 2025?
Other than DA arrears demand and the 8th pay panel, the NC JCM also urged the government to restore festival advance for the central government employees, implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petitions concerning CGHS facilities to the central staff, and restore commuted pension after 12 years instead of 15 years. There were several other demands the body requested the government look into.
What’s government’s stand on releasing the DA arrears of 18 months?
Despite multiple representations, letters, and meetings where employee bodies pressed for the release of DA arrears from the pandemic period, the government has consistently maintained that the payment was withheld to alleviate the financial strain on the central exchequer caused by the pandemic.
The issue of non-payment of 18-month DA arrears has been raised time and again in Parliament by several parliamentarians.
Responding to a query in this regard in the Rajya Sabha, Pankaj Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Finance, said, “The decision to freeze three instalments of Dearness Allowance(DA)/Dearness Relief (DR) to Central Government employees/pensioners due from 01.01.2020, 01.07.2020 and 01.01.2021 was taken in the context of COVID-19, which caused economic disruption, so as to ease pressure on government finances.”
On account of freezing of three instalments of DA, the Centre saved an amount of Rs 34,402.32 crore. The Centre utilized the fund to tide over the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Parliament was informed.
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