Protest against new pay scale is utter nonsense: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday dismissed the central bank officials' allegations of discrimination against them in the new pay scale as 'utter nonsense'.

The finance minister vented his anger when he spoke to reporters at his secretariat office while submitting his income tax returns.

Bangladesh Bank officials allege that the new national pay scale discriminates against them and will discourage efficient people from joining the central bank.

At a press meet on Tuesday, central bankers said an entry level official or assistant director at the BB used to get the eighth-grade pay, along with government cadre officials and public university lecturers, in the previous pay structure.

The BB's assistant directors have now been pushed down to the ninth grade, but the cadre officials and public university lecturers are still at the eighth grade, they said.

Muhith said an initiative was taken to give a separate pay scale to the central bank officials, but it became unnecessary after the salary hike with the new pay scale.

The demand for changes in the new pay scale is illogical, he said.

On the demands of the university teachers, the finance minister said, “The teachers made the demands out of ignorance.”

They demand the government pay salaries to a certain percentage of the university professors that is equal to that of the senior secretary.

Among around 17,000 teachers, some 2,000 are full professors; out of about 18 lakh government staff, only 10 are senior secretaries, said the minister.

The University Grants Commi-ssion will find a solution to meet the university teachers' demands, he added.

On the teachers of the private educational institutions being MPO-listed, Muhith said, “This is a very bad system. It does not uphold the interest of the institutions and the students. It only looks at the interest of the teachers.” A committee has been formed to look into these matters; a decision will be taken on the basis of the report by the committee, he added.

The finance minister yesterday submitted his income tax return online, 23 days after the expiry of the deadline.

Muhith said he got an extension on the timeframe for his income tax return submission by one month. He paid Tk 117,533 this time, but he got Tk 61,663 as refund as he paid more taxes earlier, he added. This year, his taxable income was Tk 10,13,722 and his wealth increased by Tk 424,978, while his asset stood at Tk 27,94,967.