New pay scale gazette by the second week of August

The cabinet will decide the steps for implementing the new pay scale for government employees. After this, a gazette in this regard may be issued by the second week of August. However, the implementation process will be effective from July 1 in any case. 

The decision in this regard was made at the meeting of the National Pay Commission-2025 Recommendation Formulation Committee on Wednesday.

According to the meeting sources, the final decision has been made on the new pay scale. The secretarial committee will analyse some technical aspects for another two to three days. 

After this, the secretarial committee’s recommendation will be presented in the cabinet meeting in the last week of this month or the first week of August. Some important decisions will be made in the cabinet, including the steps for implementing the new pay scale. 

After approval by the cabinet, it will go to the Law Ministry for legal vetting. Later, the gazette will be issued if the prime minister approves the summary.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury announced while presenting the budget in the National Parliament on June 11 that the new pay structure for government employees will be implemented from the 2026-27 fiscal year. It will be implemented in stages from July 1.

According to the finance division sources, initially the implementation committee recommended implementing the new pay structure in three stages. After that, the recommendation was for implementation in two stages. In the latest meeting on Wednesday, it was decided that the cabinet will take the final decision on this matter. Because, the commission informed then that even though 1.4 lakh government employees and 9 lakh pensioners are currently spending Tk1.31 lakh crore, an additional Tk1.6 lakh crore will be needed to implement the new structure. 

Accordingly, the members of the secretarial committee opined that the decision on how the government will provide this money should be taken in the cabinet meeting.

After the meeting, a member of the committee told Daily Samakal on condition of anonymity that the salaries of government employees have not increased for almost 11 years. Therefore, the new pay scale is being carefully reviewed so that no one is deprived or angry. Two to three more meetings will be held for this. After that, the gazette may be published in early August. 

He said that there is a lot of money involved in giving additional salaries and allowances. This has to do with the government’s capacity. Therefore, the secretarial committee will not give any opinion on how many phases the new pay scale will be implemented. The final decision in this regard will be taken in the cabinet meeting.

It is learned that the new pay structure includes not only the basic salary; there is also a proposal to rearrange various allowances including house rent, medical treatment, education, and transportation. Multiple SROs (Statutory Regulatory Orders) will have to be issued regarding these benefits. 

According to sources in the finance division, after the committee meeting on Wednesday, it was asked to prepare drafts of SROs and regulations related to the implementation of the new pay scale. 

In some cases, instructions have been given to highlight the picture of the past pay scale. The concerned officials of the finance division are working in light of the committee’s instructions.

The latest pay scale was implemented in two phases. Former Finance Secretary Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury told Daily Samakal that the latest 2015 pay scale was implemented in two phases. Salary was given in the first year and allowances in the next year. Overall, implementing the pay scale in two phases is realistic. The secretarial committee can present both types of proposals to the cabinet. Then, the cabinet will decide which one it thinks is better.

In 2025, the interim government formed the “National Pay Commission, 2025” under the leadership of former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan. 

The report that the commission submitted to the government on January 22 recommended increasing the salaries and allowances of government employees by 100 to 140 percent. 

According to the commission’s recommendations, it is proposed to increase the existing minimum salary scale from Tk8,250 to Tk20,000 and the highest step from Tk78,000 to Tk160,000. 

In addition, it is recommended to increase the rate of Baisakhi allowance from the current 20 percent to 50 percent and there is a need for comprehensive reforms in the provision of travel allowance from 10th to 20th grade. 

A 10-member committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani was formed on April 21 to review the recommendations of the Pay Commission.

The main responsibility of this committee is to examine the reports submitted by the National Pay Commission 2025, Bangladesh Judicial Service Pay Commission 2025, and Armed Forces Pay Committee 2025 and make recommendations for further action.