Government Salaries Set to Double Under New Pay Commission Proposal

The National Pay Commission is preparing to submit a landmark report recommending a twofold increase in the basic salary for government employees.

If the recommendations are approved, the minimum basic salary will rise to 20,000 BDT, while the maximum basic salary will be set at 160,000 BDT.

With current allowances and benefits included, a Grade-20 employee (the lowest tier) stationed in Dhaka would see their total monthly take-home pay reach approximately 42,000 BDT.

Submission Scheduled for Wednesday
Zakir Ahmed Khan, Chairman of the Pay Commission and former Finance Secretary, confirmed that the commission is ready to present its findings to the Chief Adviser.

"We have secured an appointment with the Chief Adviser for Wednesday, January 21," Khan stated. "I can say this much: something very positive is happening. We are putting forward a very strong proposal."

Closing the Wage Gap
A member of the commission noted that while the existing 20-grade structure will remain, the proposal seeks to reduce the disparity between the highest and lowest earners. The current ratio of 1:9 is proposed to be narrowed to 1:8.

"Considering current inflation and the cost of living, we have proposed doubling the pay across all sectors," the member explained. "Currently, a Grade-20 employee receives roughly 17,000 BDT total.

Under the new structure, with a 65% house rent allowance in Dhaka and other benefits, that figure will jump to 42,000 BDT."

Budgetary Provisions and Implementation
Despite some skepticism regarding whether the interim government can fully implement such a massive change before the upcoming February 12 elections, the Ministry of Finance has already made significant room in the budget.

• Revised Budget Allocation: The allocation for salaries and allowances has been increased by approximately 22,000 crore BDT in the revised budget, bringing the total to 1.06 lakh crore BDT.
• ADP Cuts: To fund this increase, the Annual Development Program (ADP) was slashed by 30,000 crore BDT.

Finance Ministry officials suggest that the government aims to implement at least one part of the new structure (either the basic pay or the allowances) starting this January. The remaining implementation would be left to the next elected government.

Context of the Reform
The interim government formed this Pay Commission on July 24 last year, following intense pressure from government employees facing high inflation.

While Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed previously introduced special incentives effective from July 1, 2024, as a stop-gap measure, the new Pay Commission report represents a permanent structural overhaul.

Currently, under the 2015 Pay Scale, roughly 1.5 million government officials and employees are managed across 20 grades, with the lowest basic pay starting at 8,250 BDT and the highest (Cabinet Secretary) at 86,000 BDT.