* Minimum salary proposed Tk 25,000, maximum
Tk 150,000
* Honorariums for committees, seminars, training to be cancelled
* New allowances--tiffin, travel, education, medical,
festival--proposed
* Health insurance, pension, and overtime pay to be introduced
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The National Pay Commission, formed by the interim government to revise government salaries, has finalized its preliminary draft proposing a minimum basic salary of Tk 25,000 and a maximum of Tk 150,000, marking an overall 90-97 per cent increase over the structure introduced a decade ago.
The draft was approved at a meeting on Monday at the Secretariat, chaired by Commission Chairman Jakir Hossain Khan, with participation from commission members, officials, and leaders of the Finance Division Officers and Employees Welfare Association.
The Welfare Association had earlier submitted proposals recommending a uniform "total salary" system, under which existing allowances-financial or non-financial-would be eliminated. The system also calls for the cancellation of honorariums for committee work, seminars, and trainings, which currently cost about Tk 1,000 crore annually.
The draft proposes 12 grades in the new pay structure, merging underused or overlapping positions to simplify administration while ensuring equitable pay. Office Assistants, Messengers, Clerks, and Photocopiers can be combined into one grade, while Computer Operators, Shorthand Typists cum Computer Operators, Office Assistants cum Computer Typists, and Data Entry Operators can be merged into another. Certain underused grades such as the 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th are also proposed for merging. Overall, 2 grades are proposed for the 4th grade, 2 for the 3rd, and 1 for the 2nd, reducing redundancy and streamlining the hierarchy.
Other proposed revised allowances and benefits include increasing the tiffin allowance from Tk 200 to Tk 3,000 and travel allowance from Tk 300 to Tk 4,500 for 10th-grade employees, education assistance for children (maximum 2 per employee) ranging from Tk 2,000 for primary level to Tk 8,000 for graduation, and medical allowances based on age: Tk 5,000 for under 40, Tk 7,000 for 40-50, and Tk 10,000 for employees above 50.
Festival allowances would be given twice a year at 100 per cent of basic salary, and the New Year's allowance is proposed at 80 per cent, up from the current 20 per cent. The draft also proposes introducing health insurance and pension schemes linked to tax contributions, along with additional remuneration for work beyond prescribed hours.
The draft emphasises secretariat allowances and ration benefits for employees driving government operations, similar to allowances in the President's Office, armed forces, judiciary, and anti-corruption bodies. Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said the additional expenditure will be included in the revised budget from December, with implementation expected early next year after gazette publication of the report.
The commission received two alternative frameworks from the Welfare Association: one retaining the existing pay structure with added benefits, and another introducing a fully uniform pay system. The final report is scheduled to be submitted to the Chief Adviser by December, marking the first comprehensive salary revision in 10 years since the last scale introduced in 2015.
