Permanent pay commission recommended for govt employees

The Public Administration Reform Commission has recommended the formation of a permanent pay commission to increase the salaries of government employees. 

The commission has also recommended the abolition of the provision of providing Tk50,000 per month to the deputy secretaries working in the secretariat for car maintenance.

In the full report published on the website of the Cabinet Division today (8 February), it was stated that a permanent pay commission should be formed to increase the salary every year by analysing the inflation and cost of living of the country by the Ministry of Finance based on the index provided by the Bangladesh Bank. 

However, the salary increase should not be more than 5%.

Regarding abolition of the provision of providing Tk50,000 per month to the deputy secretaries for car maintenance, the commission said as the opportunity is not available to other service officers outside the secretariat it should be abolished. This will eliminate discrimination on the one hand and reduce the government's expenditure on the other, it said.

Officials from the finance ministry told TBS that the last pay scale for government employees was implemented in 2015, which nearly doubled the salaries and allowances of all officers and staff. 

The pay commission, led by former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin, had recommended that no further pay commission be formed for government employees.

The Farashuddin-led pay commission had recommended that government employees receive an annual increment on 1 July each year, with the increment rate set at 5%. However, if the inflation rate exceeds 5%, the annual increment rate should match the inflation rate.

Since 2015, the country's inflation rate has remained within 6%. As a result, the government had provided a 5% annual increment to employees each year. 

Previously, to address high inflationary pressure and satisfy government employees, the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced an additional 5% special incentive alongside the regular 5% increment, which would continue until further instructions were given.

After the fall of the Hasina government on 5 August, the interim government formed a committee to introduce a dearness allowance for government employees. The committee finalised a proposal for a 10% dearness allowance for officials from Grade-1 to Grade-9 and a 20% allowance for employees from Grade-10 to Grade-20. 

However, the initiative faced criticism from various quarters, as the government imposed additional VAT on essential goods during a period of high inflation, increasing the financial burden on the public. In response to the backlash, the government decided to withdraw the proposal.