9th national pay scale in final stage, may be announced any time: Principal Secretary

The ninth national pay scale for government employees has reached its final stage and could be announced at any moment, Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar said on Sunday.

Responding to a journalist’s question at the Secretariat, he said the pay scale remains under consideration. 

“There is a government commitment, and we will implement it. It is in the final stage and can be announced at any moment,” he said.

According to sources, the secretary committee has recommended a maximum 100 percent increase in the basic salary of government employees under the new structure. The rise will not be uniform across all grades and may vary. 

The committee has also proposed implementing the new salary structure in two phases: basic salary in the first year, followed by various allowances including house rent in the second year. 

These details emerged from the National Pay Commission-2025 Recommendation Formulation Committee meeting held on Wednesday.

A committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity after the meeting, said all members signed the final report on the salary increase. They agreed to raise the basic salary of employees in grades 1 to 20 by a maximum of 100 percent. 

The structure is proposed for implementation over the next two years, though the cabinet retains the authority to modify it. 

The Finance Division is expected to place the proposal before the cabinet next week with the Prime Minister’s consent.

The last national pay scale was announced in 2015. Since then, basic salaries have risen by a fixed five percent annually, but no new scale has been introduced. After the current government assumed office, a committee was formed to review the matter further. 

A 10-member committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani was constituted on April 21 to examine the Pay Commission’s recommendations. 

After a four-month review, it prepared the final report. A separate seven-member committee led by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury was later formed to review the Judicial Service Pay Commission 2025 report and formulate recommendations.

A member of the secretarial committee, also speaking anonymously, said the panel’s main task was to examine reports from the National Pay Commission 2025, Bangladesh Judicial Service Pay Commission 2025 and Armed Forces Pay Committee 2025, and recommend further action. “We have made recommendations for everyone, including the judicial service.”

Former Finance Secretary Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury told Daily Samakal that the 2015 pay scale was implemented in two phases—salary in the first year and allowances in the second. 

He described a phased approach as realistic and noted that the secretarial committee could present both options to the cabinet for a final decision.

In the 2026-27 budget, approximately Tk 89,836 crore has been allocated for salaries and allowances of government officials and employees. Including pension and gratuity, the figure rises to Tk 1,41,434 crore. 

The ‘Public Administration-Net’ sector has received Tk 54,572 crore more than the revised budget of the current fiscal year.