Government Pay Rise: Cabinet to Review New Salary Structure Soon
Millions of government employees in Bangladesh may soon receive higher salaries. A new pay structure draft is ready. The Cabinet could approve it as early as tomorrow, Monday. Sources from the Ministry of Finance shared this information. If approved, the official notification process will begin. This could take one to two weeks.
A 10-member committee prepared these recommendations. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani led this committee. It was formed on April 21 to suggest how to implement a new pay structure. The committee has now finished its work.
Earlier, a 23-member National Pay Commission also studied new salary scales. Former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan headed this commission. It submitted its report to then Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on January 21 this year.
The Zakir Ahmed Khan commission proposed big salary increases. It recommended raising salaries and allowances by 100 to 140 percent. The commission suggested increasing the minimum basic salary from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000. It also proposed raising the highest basic salary from Tk 78,000 to Tk 160,000. The commission estimated an extra cost of Tk 1.06 trillion. This would cover about 1.4 million government employees and 900,000 pensioners.
However, the Nasimul Ghani committee did not recommend increases above 100 percent. It proposed a two-stage implementation over two years. Basic salaries would increase from July 1 of the current financial year. Allowances would rise from July 1 of the next financial year.
The proposal going to the Cabinet is slightly different. Basic salaries will increase from July 1 this year. But these increases will happen in stages. Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury announced this on June 11. He spoke during his national budget speech in Parliament.
The Finance Minister explained the reason for the pay increase. Government employees have used the same pay structure for nearly 11 years. During this time, the cost of living has risen greatly due to inflation. He said the new pay structure would help. The budget for the current financial year has set aside Tk 141,434 crore for salaries and allowances. This is Tk 54,572 crore more than last year’s revised budget.
Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury addressed funding concerns. He told Prothom Alo last week that the government cannot afford to pay everything at once. He noted that the country’s financial capacity has reduced. This is due to large imports. He confirmed that calculations are still under way.
