The Nurses Welfare Association (NWA), a body that represents nurses posted at central government hospitals across the country, demanded the upgradation of entry-level pay, night duty allowance, insurance coverage and the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), in its meeting with the 8th Pay Commission officials in Chandigarh today (Friday, September 18, 2026).

Risk and hardship allowance and qualification allowance are some of the other demands raised by the nurses' body. Here, we take you through the eight major recommendations by the NWA to the 8th Pay Commission.

1.Upgradation of entry-level pay

The NWA has demanded the Level 10 entry-level pay for nursing officers, citing that it will bring them on par with the Military Nursing Service.

“This aligns with the upgraded eligibility criteria from GNM to B.Sc. Nursing and follows the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s recommendations (vide DO letters dated 01/08/2016 and 16/03/2018) to bring nursing officers on par with the Military Nursing Service, reflecting their extensive job responsibilities,” says the NWA in their update to the nursing staff.

2.Night duty allowance

The NWA has recommended introducing a dedicated night duty allowance for all nursing officials.

3.Risk and hardship allowance

The NWA says that the nature of a nurse’s job is challenging and hence, the central government should implement the risk and hardship allowance under the R1H1 matrix. While R1 represents the highest level of risk in a job, H1 represents the most extreme hardship in a job.

4. Insurance coverage for nursing staff

The NWA says nurses face extreme levels of health hazards. So, the government should implement a comprehensive term insurance and health insurance policy for healthcare workers to cover health hazards, similar to the protections provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5Upgradation of Chandigarh city category

In a city-specific demand, the NWA said that Chandigarh should be included in the A1 city (Tier 1) category by calculating the collective population of the tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula).

“This will ensure fair House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Transport Allowance (TA) for staff in the region,” says the NTA in its letter.

6. Enhancement of allowances

The NWA has recommended the continuation of nursing allowance, dress allowance, and special allowance and increase them by three times.

7. Qualification allowance

The NWA suggests that the government should continue the qualification allowance for nurses at the rate of two non-absorbable increments.

8. Restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS)

Like many other central government bodies, the NWA has also recommended the restoration of the OPS.

The central government discontinued the OPS on December 31, 2003, and started the National Pension System (NPS) on January 1, 2004.

On April 1, 2025, the government also started the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under the NPS.

Central government employees can now opt for the NPS or the UPS. However, most central government pensioners are still covered under the OPS. But that picture will change after the year 2035, when a large number of employees covered under the NPS will start retiring.

Leading central government bodies, including the National Council- Join Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), have recommended restoring the OPS for all central government employees.