The previous Pay Commission took almost a year to suggest a new pay scale for the employees in the public sector. They needed this time to study the pay scales in neighbouring countries, the “calorie requirements” of employees and their families and such things. The highest pay suggested by them was Tk. 27,000/= per month. However, the international donor agencies warned the government of the negative impact of this pay hike, and the proposed pay-scale was discarded by the government, and a modified pay-scale with Tk. 23,000/= p.m. as the highest monthly pay was finally adopted.
Immediately after the formation of the previous Pay Commission, I had told a member during a private conversation that what the commission would do in months by spending a huge amount of public money could be done in fifteen minutes. One needs a pocket calculator, and a decision from the government through the finance minister about the additional amount of money which would be made available for the pay increase. I believe, the final pay scale implemented by the government, was made as per my suggestion, and not by the months of work by the pay commission.
The first Pay Commission after the liberation of Bangladesh had the challenging task of proposing a pay structure which involved a reorganisation of various services. This was absolutely necessary, and was of course a difficult task, and the time taken by the commission was justified. The reorganised structure required modification, which was undertaken by the next commission. Over the past two decades, the service structure has not been changed, and only new pay scales have replaced the earlier ones. This policy also created dissatisfaction, as the employees who reached the end of their pay scales always received a smaller pay increase.
The political governments in the past have always tried to buy time by forming pay commission. The employees have been made to believe that a pay increase can be made only if a pay commission is formed. However, it is clear that a pay commission is not necessary to revise the pay of the employees. In the developed countries, a percentage increase of the pay is made at regular intervals for all the scales, and this percentage, and the period for which it remains valid, is normally decided through a bargain between the representatives of the government and the employees. In view of the limited resources of our government, it is absolutely meaningless to assess the “calorie requirements” of the employees as done by the previous Pay Commission. What is needed is to assess the ability of the government to allocate additional funds, and this should be done by the government itself. I would like to ask the chairman of the newly constituted Pay Commission to inform the public about his approach to the issue, and declare a time schedule for the job.