Automatic pay rise for govt staff on the cards

The government has moved to introduce an automatic annual pay rise for civil servants keeping pace with inflation instead of increasing salaries through pay commissions.

“The new system will be put in place before we leave, and the next government will implement it,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said after a meeting at the secretariat.

Muhith chaired an inter-ministerial meeting which decided to form a nine-member committee led by the secretary for coordination and reform of the cabinet division.

The committee will submit a report within three months.

The government, at the time of implementing the last pay scale, said that no pay commission will be formed in the future, said Muhith. 

Instead an automatic system will be put in place to take care of the inflation factor. A cell will be formed to deal with the subject, he said. 

“We sat to discuss how the pay will rise in the future,” said Muhith. 

The nine-member committee will comprise representatives of ministries, including the ministries on finance, commerce, planning, and establishment, as well as Bangladesh Bank and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The government increased the basic salary of civil servants in July 2015 and made effective the allowance in July last year.