The Central Government Employees and Workers Confederation has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking her intervention over the delay in releasing Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR). The body urged the Centre to issue orders on DA and bonuses before the festive season, citing growing discontent among lakhs of employees and pensioners.
The central government revises DA twice every year, first from January to June and then from July to December. The second increase is usually announced in late September or early October. However, the employees and pensioners are disappointed as the orders have not been received yet. They are expecting the increased DA along with their September salary.
In the letter given by the Confederation, it was stated that “DA and DR instalments to be implemented from 01-07-2025 have not been announced yet. Earlier, these orders used to come at the end of September, and three months’ arrears were paid at the beginning of October.” It was stated that this delay has caused dissatisfaction among the employees and pensioners.
Furthermore, the Confederation has raised another important issue. In the backdrop of the approaching Durga Puja festival, it has asked the government to immediately announce the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) and Ad-hoc Bonus. In the letter, it has been requested to issue orders immediately so that employees and pensioners can get relief before the festival. With the beginning of Navratri and the Dussehra festival in the first week of October, they are expecting the DA hike announcement to come even earlier.
DA is calculated based on the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW). This calculation uses a formula that determines the Consumer Price Index using the average of the last 12 months. For the current calculations, the year 2016 is being taken as the base year.
Meanwhile, the employees remain disappointed as the official announcement regarding the Eighth Pay Commission has yet to be made. The arrangements are taking longer this time compared to previous commissions. The July-December 2025 DA hike will be the last hike of the Seventh Pay Commission. The term of this commission will end on December 31, 2025.
