An important demand has arisen for central government employees who have retired if their pension provision is lower than that of colleagues who retired from the same position. Trade unions and pensioner organizations are insisting on considering a system similar to 'One Position - One Pension' (OROP), analogous to the military one, for civil servants of the central government.
The essence of the demand is that there should not be a significant difference between the pensions of employees who held the same position, had a similar level of service, but retired at different times. However, currently, this is only an initiative of the trade unions, and neither the 8th Departmental Commission Council nor the central government has approved it.
Consider the situation: two employees retire from the same position after serving for approximately the same period. But because one retired earlier and the other later, the rules for calculating salary and pensions may have changed during that period. As a result, their pensions may differ. The trade unions argue that the difference in pension provision should not be so significant if the position and seniority of the individuals are the same, and they have put forward the demand for a system similar to OROP to reduce this discrepancy before the 8th Departmental Commission Council.
'One Position - One Pension' means striving to make pensions more equal for individuals who retire from the same position and with the same length of service. Currently, such a system is in effect for the armed forces. The trade unions are demanding the creation of a similar system for civil servants of the central government, covering positions from Level 1 to Level 18.
Organizations believe that when calculating a pension, one cannot rely solely on the date of retirement. Instead, the employee's position, promotions received during service, and career growth must be taken into account. Furthermore, they demand that the impact of whether the position was promoted or its level changed after retirement be included in the pension calculation. In simpler terms, the salary increase received by employees working in that position after the employee retired must be considered.
The proposed plan states that the pension should be determined based on 50% of the pensionable salary, although this will also depend on existing rules and other legal provisions. The goal of this proposal is to prevent too large a disparity in pensions among employees in similar situations.
The discussion of this demand is taking place while sessions of the 8th Central Departmental Commission Council are being held in the states. According to the Commission's official website, meetings are scheduled for October 7 and 8 in Bangalore. Following this, negotiations involving trade unions, pensioner organizations, and other parties regarding the 8th Departmental Commission Council will take place in Mumbai on October 22 and 23. These meetings address issues related to salary, allowances, and pensions.
The demand for a system similar to OROP was put forward by trade unions and pensioner organizations. This does not mean that a decision on pension increases has been made. The 8th Departmental Commission Council has received proposals and requests from employees and pensioners, and it will review these issues to present its recommendations. The final decision will then have to be made by the central government. The Commission's official mandates state that recommendations must be presented within 18 months.
This demand could have the greatest impact on employees who have already retired before the recommendations of the 8th Departmental Commission Council come into force. Trade unions have previously raised the issue of including the revision of pensions for employees who retired before January 1, 2026, under the purview of the 8th Departmental Commission Council. In August 2026, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) sent requests from some such organizations to the Ministry of Finance Expenditure Department for further action.