8th Pay Commission: J&K Teachers Demand Higher Salaries, Push for Old Pension Scheme

Teachers in Jammu and Kashmir are pushing hard for big changes. They want the Old Pension Scheme back, a fix for salary issues where seniors earn less than juniors, and a massive hike in medical and education allowances. Will the 8th Pay Commission listen?

Srinagar/Jammu: With the buzz around the 8th Pay Commission getting louder across the country, government employees and teachers in Jammu and Kashmir have put forward a major list of demands to the central government. The Jammu-Kashmir General Line Teachers Forum (JKGLTF), along with the All India NPS Employee Federation (AINPSEF), is calling for a complete overhaul of the salary structure, allowances, and pension policy. After years of their concerns going unheard, the teachers are clear: they can't wait any longer.

OPS vs NPS: The Big Pension Battle

The teachers' biggest and most talked-about demand is to scrap the National Pension System (NPS) and bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The forum has warned policymakers that the current system leaves teachers' futures uncertain after retirement. The teachers' union argues that they want a guaranteed pension that provides financial security in their old age, rather than depending on market risks. Adding to this, the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) has also demanded that pensions should be revised every five years and family pension should be increased from the current 30% so that dependents don't face financial hardship.

The Salary Mess: When Juniors Earn More Than Seniors!

The list of demands highlights a really shocking and serious problem: salary disparity. According to the forum, a strange situation has come up because of the 7th Pay Commission and complicated promotion rules. Experienced General Line Teachers who were appointed in 2009 are currently getting a lower salary than their junior colleagues with less service. To fix this financial loss and humiliation, the teachers are demanding a one-time correction system with retrospective benefits. They have also recommended giving two notional increments to eligible teachers from the 2019 batch.

A Six-Fold Hike in Allowances: Will the Government Agree?

Citing inflation and the rising cost of living, the teachers have proposed a massive increase in their allowances:

Allowance Type	Current Amount (per month)	Proposed Amount (per month)
Medical Allowance	₹300	₹2,000
Children's Education Allowance (CEA)	₹2,813	₹5,000 (per child)

Teachers say that the current medical allowance of ₹300 is a joke when you look at today's medical expenses. Similarly, the actual cost of a child's education is much higher than the current allowance. They are also demanding that the waiting period for non-functional promotions be reduced from 9 years to 5 or 6 years, and that after promotion, they should be moved directly to Pay Level-7 (Grade Pay 4600) instead of Pay Level-6A.

Special Demands for a Challenging Region

The forum has argued that given the difficult geography, harsh weather, and challenging socio-economic conditions in the valley and Jammu, teachers here should get the same facilities as those in Delhi or other union territories. They have also asked for special concessions for employees with disabilities (PwDs). This includes increasing disability and transport allowances, providing extra leave, special tax exemptions, and strengthening retirement benefits to help them cover the extra costs of healthcare and assistive technologies. Now, all eyes are on the 8th Pay Commission to see how it responds to these demands.