Joint Consultative Machinery

The Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) is the standing negotiating forum between the Government of India, as employer, and the recognised associations of its civil employees, set up under the Scheme for Joint Consultative Machinery and Compulsory Arbitration for Central Government Employees introduced in 1966. It works through a National Council chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, Departmental Councils and office councils. It sends a final disagreement on pay, allowances, weekly hours or leave of a class of employees to a Board of Arbitration.

The Scheme is administered by the Establishment (JCA) Section of the Department of Personnel and Training, and its orders carry a “JCA” file number. It is a scheme, not a statute: no Act or rule made under Article 309 creates it, participation by associations is voluntary, and clause 12 makes every agreement “Subject to the final authority of the Cabinet”. What gives it force is the arbitration limb, under which an award binds the government unless Parliament modifies or rejects it.

For a central government employee the machinery matters in three places. The National Council is where demands on minimum pay, dearness allowance and common cadres are pressed between pay commissions. Its Staff Side filed the consolidated employees’ memoranda to the 7th Central Pay Commission and, on 14 April 2026, to the 8th Central Pay Commission. And its councils supply the members of the anomaly committees that settle distortions after a pay revision.

This article covers the Scheme’s origin and coverage, the three tiers, the National Council (JCM) and its Staff Side in detail, the scope and procedure of the councils, recognition of service associations, compulsory arbitration and the Board of Arbitration, and how the machinery differs from the anomaly committee and the Central Administrative Tribunal.

Origin: the Second Pay Commission and the 1966 Scheme

The JCM Scheme was recommended by the Second Pay Commission in 1959 and introduced in 1966, on the pattern of the Whitley councils of the United Kingdom civil service. DoPT’s brochure on the Scheme records that the details were worked out “in consultation with the leaders of the employees” before introduction, and the DoPT Annual Report 2024-25 (paragraph 13.1) repeats the 1966 date and the Whitley model. The Cabinet Secretary marked the Scheme’s Diamond Jubilee at the 49th meeting of the National Council on 11 May 2026, according to the PIB release of that date.

The preamble to the Scheme states its purpose in one sentence: “promoting harmonious relations and of securing the greatest measure of cooperation between the Government, in its capacity as employer, and the general body of its employees in matters of common concern”, and increasing the efficiency of the public service. The 2nd Central Pay Commission proposed the machinery in its 1959 report. The Scheme as introduced pairs consultation with compulsory arbitration, so that a final disagreement on pay, hours or leave is settled by an award.

Participation rests on a written bargain. Every association joining the Scheme subscribes to a Declaration of Joint Intent (Appendix II to the brochure). Paragraph 5 committed the associations to give the Scheme “a fair trial” for a minimum of five years and to resolve all disputes through it during that period. Paragraph 4 recorded the government’s side: provision in the rules so that no office-bearer of a union or association “is victimised for legitimate association / trade union activities”. Paragraph 9 allows either the Declaration or the Scheme to be amended by mutual agreement.

The victimisation undertaking has a rule behind it. Rule 24(3) of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 gives a direct appeal to the President where a penalty relates to a government servant’s activities as an office-bearer of an association, federation or union participating in the JCM, under Ministry of Home Affairs OM No. 7/14/64-Ests.(A) dated 18 April 1967.

Who the JCM Scheme covers

Clause 1 of the Scheme covers “all regular civil employees of the Central Government” except five groups:

1. the Class I services;
2. the Class II services, other than the Central Secretariat Services and comparable services in headquarters organisations;
3. persons in industrial establishments employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity, and supervisory staff drawing salary in scales going beyond a ceiling;
4. employees of the Union Territories;
5. police personnel.

The Scheme text still uses the Class I and Class II labels that the service classification has since replaced with Group A and Group B. The constitution of the National Council (clause 4(1) of Appendix III) adds a sixth exclusion that clause 1 does not carry: it ends its list with “Police personnel and personnel of the Railway Protection Force”. The Railway Protection Force is outside the National Council even though clause 1 names only police. Defence forces personnel are outside for a separate reason: the Scheme covers civil employees only.

DoPT’s brochure puts coverage at “over 95% of the regular civil employees”, including “industrial employees working in departmentally run undertakings like the Railways and the Workshops/Production Units of various Ministries”. Railway employees and industrial employees of the production units are therefore inside the Scheme.

The supervisory pay ceiling in clause 1(c)

The ceiling in clause 1(c) has been restated once by an order amending the Scheme (2004) and once in a DoPT FAQ, and not at all for the 7th CPC. The test is the pay scale, not the pay actually drawn: a supervisor is excluded if the scale runs beyond the ceiling.

The 6 April 2004 OM is the only one in the series that says “the Scheme is amended to this extent”. It records that the Rs. 2,900 limit was examined with the Department of Expenditure and “would correspond to Rs.8900/-” in the 5th CPC scales. The Rs. 4,200 grade pay figure appears only in the FAQ. Under the 7th CPC concordance, grade pay of Rs. 4,200 maps to Level 6 of the pay matrix. Read on the FAQ’s wording, a supervisor at Level 6 is inside the Scheme and one at Level 7 or above is outside it; but that is a mapping, and no order in the JCA series settles coverage in matrix levels.

The three tiers of joint councils

Clause 3 of the Scheme provides “a joint council at the national level and usually at two lower levels - departmental, regional/office”. Each council has an Official Side appointed by the government and a Staff Side nominated by recognised associations. Associations nominate their Staff Side members for a three-year term with no bar on renomination (clause 8). Only a serving or honourably retired central government employee may sit on either side (clause 7(iv)), although a note to that clause lets the government admit an ex-employee case by case.

The allocation of business between tiers is strict. Clause 4 states that “Matters of interest to employees of a single Department will not be dealt with by the National Council”, so a demand affecting only postal staff goes to the Departmental Council of the Department of Posts, not the National Council. Clause 5(iii) set up a separate council for the Central Secretariat Services, originally in the Ministry of Home Affairs because that ministry then controlled the service.

National Council (JCM)

The National Council (JCM) is the apex tier of the Joint Consultative Machinery, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, with an Official Side of up to 25 senior secretaries and a Staff Side of up to 60 representatives of recognised federations and associations. Under clause 4 of the 1966 Scheme it deals with matters affecting central government employees generally, “such as minimum remuneration, dearness allowance and pay of certain common categories”, and with categories common to two or more departments. It has met 49 times since 1966.

Official Side

Clause 7(i) names the core of the Official Side: the Cabinet Secretary, the Secretaries of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Labour, Communications and Defence, the Secretaries of the Departments of Expenditure and Revenue, and one Secretary of the Ministry of Railways. DoPT OM No. 3/68/2000-JCA dated 28 October 2002 notified a wider composition of 20 named members. That list includes the Chairman or Member (Staff) of the Railway Board, the Financial Commissioner (Railways), the Secretaries of Defence, Defence Production, Posts, Home, Personnel, Labour, Health, Atomic Energy and Science and Technology, and the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General. The Director or Deputy Secretary (JCA) in DoPT is the Member-Secretary. Temporary members may be added, but the Official Side may not exceed 25.

Staff Side

The Staff Side “may consist of up to 60 members who will be nominated by the recognized associations” (clause 7(i)). Seats are distributed by department in an annexure to the constitution of the National Council, on the basis of the numerical strength of the categories of staff. In that annexure the Railways hold 26 of the 60 seats and Defence six. Where two or more associations compete for a seat, it is allotted on verified membership, verified in the manner advised by the Chief Labour Commissioner.

The Staff Side elects its Leader by simple majority for one year, with re-election allowed (brochure paragraph 6.5), and appoints its own Secretary (paragraph 6.6). A GOI decision of 1964 under paragraph 6.5 states that the Staff Side “would speak through their Leader” and settle internal differences before proposals are considered. According to the PIB release of 11 May 2026, the 49th meeting was attended by Shri Raghavaiah as Leader of the Staff Side, Shri Shiv Gopal Mishra as its Secretary and 28 other Staff Side representatives. Circulars for the Staff Side are endorsed to the Secretary, Staff Side, National Council (JCM), 13-C, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi (DoPT No. 3/4/90-JCA dated 23 April 1990).

Meetings of the National Council

The Council’s rules for the conduct of business require ordinary meetings “not less than once in four months”, with 15 days’ notice, and allow a special meeting at the request of either side. The record falls far short of that rule. The DoPT Annual Report 2005-06 (paragraph 12.4) counted 44 meetings since 1966, the last on 28 May 2005, and the count had reached only 49 by May 2026.

The gap of nearly nine years between the 46th and 47th meetings is acknowledged in the minutes of the 47th meeting, which note “a long gap between the 46th and 47th meeting” and record that four Standing Committee meetings were held “during the last four years”. DoPT’s Annual Reports for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 all state that 48 meetings had been held, so the count was unchanged for almost five years before the 49th.

Standing Committee of the National Council

Clause 4 of the Scheme allows the National Council two standing committees, one for non-industrial and one for industrial staff. In practice the Standing Committee carries the Council’s working business. It is chaired by the Secretary, DoPT, and had held 62 meetings by the DoPT Annual Report 2024-25 (paragraph 13.5). Recent dated meetings in the Annual Reports are 7 March 2019, 26 February 2021 (49 items), 22 September 2022 (40 items) and 20 September 2023 (13 items).

The Standing Committee has also negotiated implementation of a pay revision. The DoPT Annual Report 2005-06 (paragraph 12.5) records that the general recommendations of the 5th CPC were implemented after a series of Standing Committee meetings that ended in an agreement signed with the Group of Ministers on 11 September 1997.

The Staff Side before the Pay Commissions

The National Council Staff Side filed consolidated employees’ memoranda to the 7th and 8th Central Pay Commissions, and each Commission’s figures can be set against its demands.

For the 7th CPC, the Staff Side ran the same seven-component need-based formula as the Commission, derived from the Aykroyd formula. It priced the basket at retail prices from eight cities as on 1 January 2014, took 25% for education, medical and recreation where the Commission took 15%, and took housing at 7.5% where the Commission took 3%. For the 8th CPC, the Staff Side submitted a 51-page memorandum on 14 April 2026, and the Commission met the Standing Committee of the National Council (JCM) on 28 April 2026. The 3.833 figure is Rs. 69,000 divided by Rs. 18,000. It is a demand, not a projection of what the Commission will recommend.

The Staff Side also presses allowance claims outside the pay commission cycle. The Committee on Allowances that reported on 27 April 2017 met the National Council Staff Side separately. On overtime allowance, the Staff Side told that Committee that rates had last been revised in 1987.

Departmental and office councils

A Departmental Council deals “only with matters affecting staff employed in the department or departments concerned” (clause 5(i)). There is normally one for each department, and two or more small departments in one ministry may share a council. The Secretary of the ministry or department chairs it, with an Official Side of five to ten members and a Staff Side of 20 to 30, depending on the department’s staff strength and number of grades (clause 7(ii)). Its conduct-of-business instructions carry the same “not less than once in four months” meeting rule as the National Council.

Office councils sit below them where a department’s structure allows, and deal “only with regional or local questions” (clause 6). The brochure (paragraph 7.1.3) requires an office-level council to meet at least once in two months.

The departmental tier is where the machinery has weakened most. DoPT OM No. 4/3/2019-JCA dated 14 December 2023, on the non-functioning of Departmental Councils, records that meetings of Departmental Councils in most ministries and departments were not being held regularly, and that the Staff Side of the National Council had raised this in both the National Council and its Standing Committee. The OM asks ministries to constitute a Departmental Council where none exists and to hold meetings more frequently. The Chairman of the 47th National Council meeting had already stressed that Departmental Council meetings should be held regularly.

Scope of the councils and what they cannot decide

Clause 9 defines the scope of every council as “all matters relating to conditions of service and work, welfare of the employees, and improvement of efficiency and standards of work”. Two provisos limit it. On recruitment, promotion and discipline, consultation is limited to “matters of general principles”. Individual cases are not considered at all.

The procedure that follows is set out in clauses 10 to 14:

• Clause 10. The Official Side concludes matters at council meetings and does not reserve them for later decision by the government.
• Clause 12. An agreement between the two sides becomes operative, subject to the final authority of the Cabinet.
• Clause 13. Where the sides do not agree, the matter may go to a committee of the council. If final disagreement is recorded on an arbitrable matter, either side may take it to arbitration. On any other matter “the Government will take action according to its own judgment”.
• Clause 14. A matter disposed of by a council cannot return to the agenda for 12 months unless the chairman directs otherwise.

Clause 2 keeps the individual route open: the machinery “will supplement, and not replace” individual representations and representations by associations about their own cadres. The practical consequence is a division of labour. A class-wide demand, such as the rate of an allowance for all Group C staff, is JCM business. A dispute over one employee’s pay fixation, seniority or penalty is not; it goes by representation and may then go to the Central Administrative Tribunal.

Non-arbitrable disagreements have one further route. By a convention recorded in DoPT OM No. 6/2/68-JCA dated 21 September 1968 (brochure paragraph 9.1), the Staff Side may place its view before a Committee of Ministers made up of the Minister in charge of the JCM Scheme, the Labour Minister and the Minister administratively concerned. DoPT No. 1/1/90-JCA dated 3 March 1990 moved the arranging of those meetings to the ministries concerned.

Recognition of service associations

A category of employees is represented on a joint council only through a recognised association. DoPT OM No. 1/2/64-JCA dated 14 January 1964 states that representation is available “only through their Association/Union, duly recognized”. Recognition is governed by the Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules, 1993, notified as G.S.R. 689(E) on 5 November 1993 under the proviso to Article 309 and Article 148(5) of the Constitution. They replaced the 1959 recognition rules.

Federations have a separate threshold. DoPT OM No. 2/14/98-JCA dated 23 September 2002 permits recognition of a federation only where its affiliated unions or associations together “constitute a minimum 15% of the entire work force”. The 1993 Rules also required every association recognised under the old rules to seek fresh recognition, and the transition took years. DoPT OM No. 5/2/2001-JCA dated 19 August 2002 records, for the Central Secretariat seats of Assistants (DR), Section Officers (DR), stenographers, despatch riders and staff car drivers, that none of the associations “could muster the minimum 35% membership” and that re-verification was under way.

Recognition carries a working benefit: office-bearers of a recognised association may be granted special casual leave of up to 20 days in a year for association work (DoPT FAQ on the JCM Scheme, answer 7). Recognition of the Central Secretariat service associations was itself still pending at the DoPT Annual Report 2024-25, which records at paragraph 13.7 that “process of recognition of Service Associations is in under consideration”.

Compulsory arbitration and the Board of Arbitration

Compulsory arbitration under the JCM Scheme covers three subjects only: “pay and allowances, weekly hours of work, and leave of a class or grade of employees” (clause 16). Individual cases are excluded (clause 17). A dispute cannot be referred until it has been considered by the National Council or the relevant Departmental Council and final disagreement has been recorded (clause 18). A dispute arising in an office council goes up to the Departmental Council first.

Composition of the Board

On a final disagreement, clause 19 requires the government to appoint a Board of Arbitration “as soon as possible”. The Board has three members: one drawn from a panel of five names submitted by the Official Side, one from a panel of five submitted by the Staff Side of the National Council, and an independent Chairman. All three are selected by the Minister of Labour, and the Board functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (DoPT Annual Report 2024-25, paragraph 13.9).

The five-year bar and the three-year life of an award

Clause 20(i) directs the Board to consider the principles in any recent report of a Commission of enquiry. Clause 20(ii) then puts Pay Commission outcomes out of reach for a period: “Matters determined by the Government in accordance with the recommendations of a Commission will not be subject to arbitration for a period of 5 years” from the date of the recommendations. A pay scale fixed on a Central Pay Commission’s recommendation cannot be taken to arbitration for five years, however strong the Staff Side’s case. Under clause 22, orders made on an award remain in force for three years unless the award or a mutual agreement says otherwise.

The Parliament override

Clause 21 is the provision that separates the JCM from ordinary consultation. It reads:

Subject to the overriding authority of Parliament, recommendations of the Board of Arbitration will be binding on both sides. If, for reasons to be recorded in writing, the Central Government is of opinion that all or any of the recommendations of Board of Arbitration should on grounds affecting national economy or social justice be modified, the Central Government shall, as soon as may be, lay before each House of Parliament the report of the Board containing such recommendations together with the modifications proposed and the reasons, therefor, and thereupon Parliament may make such modifications in the recommendations as it may deem fit. Modification may extend to the rejection of a recommendation.

The government cannot reject an award by executive order. DoPT OM No. 3/23/85-JCA dated 1 June 1988, as modified on 20 February 1989, requires an award to be either implemented or the subject of resolutions in both Houses within six months of receipt. The 1989 modification provides that a formal resolution may be moved seeking Parliament’s approval, instead of just placing a statement of modification on the Table.

Procedure orders on arbitrability

DoPT has added a layer of procedure around the arbitration clauses:

The Board’s record

The DoPT Annual Report 2005-06 publishes the Board’s full record in an annexure, giving the position of references up to 2005.

The DoPT Annual Report 2010-11 (paragraph 10.10) put the totals at 259 references and 257 decided. The 2018-19 report gives no count and states only that most awards have been implemented “except a few”. At the 47th National Council meeting on 13 April 2019 the Leader of the Staff Side raised the delay in finalising Board awards, citing CA Reference No. 3/2001 on bringing the pay scales of Senior Accountants, Accounts Assistants and Senior Auditors on par with Assistants of the Central Secretariat, pending since 24 August 2004 (minutes, paragraph 4.10). Up to 2005 the Staff Side won something in 176 of 254 decided references. The government proposed rejection of 13 of those 176 awards to Parliament, which had approved rejection of five by 2005.

JCM, the anomaly committee and the Tribunal compared

Three different bodies handle three different kinds of grievance about pay, with different standing, chairs and end points.

The National Anomaly Committee constituted by F. No. 11/2/2016-JCA-I dated 9 September 2016 had nine Official Side and 13 Staff Side members and drew its Staff Side from the National Council. It is an offshoot of the JCM without being part of its arbitration: paragraph 6 of the 16 August 2016 OM states that anomaly arbitration “will not be part of the JCM Scheme”.

Common misconceptions about the JCM

The JCM is not a trade union and has no members of its own. It is a set of councils. The Staff Side is made up of nominees of recognised federations and associations, such as the All India Railwaymen’s Federation and the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, which remain separate bodies.

A JCM agreement is not self-executing. Clause 12 makes it subject to the final authority of the Cabinet, and an order giving effect to it still has to issue from DoPT or the Department of Expenditure. Staff Side minutes record demands and assurances, not entitlements.

The National Council does not negotiate the pay commission’s report. It files a memorandum to the Commission and negotiates implementation with the government afterwards, as the Standing Committee did with the Group of Ministers in 1997. Matters the government determines in accordance with the Commission’s recommendations are shielded from arbitration for five years by clause 20(ii).

The JCM does not permit strikes. Rule 7(ii) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 bars a government servant from any form of strike in connection with a service matter. The Declaration of Joint Intent separately provides for abjuration of agitational methods by participating associations.

Related Articles

• Pay anomaly and the anomaly committee
• National Anomaly Committee
• Board of Arbitration
• CCS (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules, 1993
• Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers
• All India Railwaymen’s Federation
• Department of Personnel and Training
• Department of Expenditure
• Cabinet Secretary
• Central Pay Commission
• 2nd Central Pay Commission
• 5th Central Pay Commission
• 6th Central Pay Commission
• 7th Central Pay Commission
• 8th Central Pay Commission
• Minimum pay
• Fitment factor
• Aykroyd formula
• Interim relief
• Index of rationalisation
• Pay matrix
• Grade pay
• Annual increment
• Dearness allowance
• Overtime allowance
• Special casual leave
• CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964
• CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965
• Appeal, review and revision under the CCS (CCA) Rules
• Central Administrative Tribunal
• Article 309
• Central Secretariat Service
• Railway employees
• Railway Protection Force
• Industrial employees
• Department of Posts
• Central government employees in India

External references

• DoPT: Brochure on the Joint Consultative Machinery and Compulsory Arbitration (PDF)
• DoPT: Frequently asked questions on the JCM Scheme (PDF)
• DoPT OM No. 4/3/2019-JCA dated 14 December 2023 on non-functioning Departmental Councils (PDF)
• DoPT annual reports
• PIB: 49th meeting of the National Council (JCM), 11 May 2026
• Department of Personnel and Training
• Ministry of Labour and Employment

References

1. Scheme for Joint Consultative Machinery and Compulsory Arbitration for Central Government Employees (1966), Appendix I to the DoPT Brochure on Joint Consultative Machinery and Compulsory Arbitration for Central Government Employees: preamble and clauses 1 to 22.
2. Declaration of Joint Intent, Appendix II to the DoPT Brochure, paragraphs 4, 5 and 9; Constitution of the National Council, Appendix III, clause 4(1), clause 5 and the annexure on Staff Side seats; brochure Introduction paragraph 1 and paragraphs 6.5, 6.6, 7.1.1, 7.1.3, 8.1.1 to 8.1.4 and 9.1 to 9.2.
3. Department of Personnel and Training OM No. 1/2/94-JCA dated 6 April 2004, raising the clause 1(c) pay limit from Rs. 2,900 to Rs. 8,900; OM No. 3/68/2000-JCA dated 28 October 2002, Official Side composition; DoPT FAQ on the JCM Scheme (2011), answers 2 and 7.
4. Department of Personnel and Training OMs on arbitration: No. 6/2/68-JCA dated 21 September 1968; No. 4/2/79-JCA dated 11 November 1981; No. 6/26/82-JCA dated 17 November 1982; No. 1/7/87-JCA dated 15 April 1988; No. 3/23/85-JCA dated 1 June 1988 and 20 February 1989.
5. Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules, 1993, G.S.R. 689(E) dated 5 November 1993, rules 3 to 10; DoPT OM No. 1/2/64-JCA dated 14 January 1964; OM No. 5/2/2001-JCA dated 19 August 2002; OM No. 2/14/98-JCA dated 23 September 2002.
6. Department of Personnel and Training OM No. 4/3/2019-JCA dated 14 December 2023, non-functioning of Departmental Councils under the JCM Scheme; minutes of the 47th meeting of the National Council (JCM) held on 13 April 2019, issued under OM No. 3/1/2019-JCA.
7. Department of Personnel and Training Annual Reports 2005-06 (paragraphs 12.4 to 12.8 and annexure), 2010-11 (paragraphs 10.4 and 10.10), 2018-19 (paragraph 12.9), 2019-20 (paragraph 12.3), 2021-22 (paragraphs 13.3 and 13.4), 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 (chapter 13, paragraphs 13.1 to 13.9).
8. Press Information Bureau release ID 2260005 dated 11 May 2026, 49th meeting of the National Council (JCM).
9. Report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (19 November 2015), paragraphs 4.2.5 and 4.2.6; National Council (JCM) Staff Side memorandum to the 8th Central Pay Commission, 14 April 2026.
10. Department of Personnel and Training OM No. 11/2/2016-JCA dated 16 August 2016, paragraph 6; F. No. 11/2/2016-JCA-I dated 9 September 2016; CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, Rule 24(3); CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964, Rule 7.