Pay raise of govt servants a welcome move

The just announced new pay scale aims to address a long-standing feeling of deprivation among the government employees. And it cannot also be denied that the old pay scale did not match the reality of the present market that dictates the cost of living. The present effort of the government will hopefully go to address the mismatch between the old pay scale of the employees and the rising cost of living.
While welcoming the present move of the government, we would like to point to the greater responsibility and obligations that it will naturally place on the beneficiaries of the pay raise. For the enhanced pay does also imply that from now on an additional cost of Tk 62.22 billion will have to be borne by the public exchequer annually.
But how is the government going to meet the additional cost from its exchequer? It would then require a better management of the budget, so that it may not have to increase its borrowing from the bank for the purpose. At the same time, it should put a brake on freewheeling and all kinds of wasteful expenditures.
As the pay raise will also increase the public's expectation from the public servants, it should therefore encourage them to reflect on how better they can perform their tasks. But if past is any guide, they will be able to find room for improvement. Inefficiency, corruption, laxity and some other vices were rather pervasive in the administration. Even then, in the face of this common perception about the public servants, there was also a powerful factor that went in their favour. It is that low pay affected their level of performance. But now with higher pay, they would be left with little room for any sloth.
It would be worthwhile to call our attention to other possible ramifications of the wholesale pay raise such as inflation and price hike of the daily essentials.
However, the finance minister, while briefing the press about the good news, assured us that the new pay regime would not negatively impact the kitchen market. So, it would be another great news for us if there were no further spike in the prices of the essential commodities after the announcement of pay scale.
The worries aside, the pay scale is expected to boost the morale of the public servants, which would go to inject a fresh dose of dynamism in their work culture. At the same time, they should also return this government move with greater accountability, commitment and efficiency in their delivery of service to the nation.