100pc hike proposed in new pay scale effective from July:Daily Sun

Mohammad Farashuddin The National Pay and Service Commission submitted the report of the proposed 8th pay scale to Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Sunday with almost cent percent salary hike for about 13 lakh government employees and officials. The minimum basic salary has been fixed at Tk 8,200 while the maximum for Grade-I officials at Tk 80,000 per month, according to the report. Meanwhile, Muhi
th said that the 8th pay scale proposed by the pay commission for government staff will be implemented from July 1, 2015 after its scrutiny. The minister came up with the assertion when a 17-member team of the commission headed by its chairman Dr Mohammad Farashuddin formally handed over the report to him at the conference room of his ministry in the morning. “The implementation of these recommendations will not affect inflation because there have no constraint of fund. The pay scale has been hiked in line with the increasing size of the budget over the past few years,” Muhith said. He further said that there has allocation of fund for the new pay hike in the current budget. “As usually we will form an implementation committee with the broad guideline through the approval by the cabinet meeting for implementing the pay scale from July 1 of the fiscal year 2015-16,” he added. As per the new pay scale, a newly-appointed first-class government officer will get a monthly basic pay of Tk 25,000, which is now Tk 11,000. Muhith said the new pay scale would increase government expenses by 63.7 percent, but would not be a problem and nothing to be worried because it has kept budgetary provisions. The minister said apart from reviewing the pay scale, the commission also proposed some administrative reforms to be implemented in phases. Public servants are already been entitled to 20 percent dearness allowance effective from July, 2013. Citing that the new pay structure is no merely a pay scale, rather much more than it, Muhith said Bangladesh after 12 years would be quite a different one — no doubt. “There has a huge difference between the economies of 2009 and today. Now the country needs a skilled and satisfied administration,” he commented. Praising the Pay Commission for submitting the report timely, Muhith said they have done it as a sole body, even there had not any note of decent and they have made recommendations over some of the basic issues that would ultimately bring good to the governance. Muhith mentioned that the sizes of budget that has been in the last 28 years are the same in the last 5 years. So there is money in the government exchequer. There have opportunity of doing lots of works. And the government’s money is the money of citizens of the country. Meanwhile, the commission has proposed declining the level of pay at 16 from the existing number of 29 where at the 1st level there have secretaries whose pays and allowances have been hiked to Tk 80,000 from Tk 42,000. If anybody is given additional responsibility, will be paid Tk 4000 as allowance. Besides, it recommended that the senior secretaries will get Tk 88,000, cabinet secretary and principal secretary at the PMO to get Tk. 1 lakh. Dr. Farashuddin, former governor of Bangladesh Bank, said that the recommendations by the seventh pay commission for the wages of the government staff was 15 percent of budget’s average proportion and now the average proportion of national budget is 14.2 percent. He said as per the investigation, it was found that the demand for raising new allowances and existing allowances is strong so as the pays will be hiked in the new structure. Then it will not be rational to increase the allowances, but the commission feels that the allowances should be rationalised. The commission has recommended developing residential facility for the government staff through building houses on government khas land and reconstructing the old building. It also has proposed providing loan of Tk 25 lakh of three grades. The commission further recommended enhancing the rate of pension by 90 percent and the age of self retirement to be fixed at 20 years instead of 25 years. About 13 lakh officers and employees will enjoy the facility after implementation of the pay scale.