Govt employees’ new Pay Scale to see the light soon 

The new pay scale for government employees is at the final stage and could be announced at any time, said Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister A B M Abdus Sattar.

He made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at the Secretariat on Sunday.

Asked about the progress of the new pay structure, Abdus Sattar said, “The pay scale is under consideration, and the government has made a commitment in this regard. We will implement it. 

It is at the final stage. The pay scale may be announced at any time."

Commenting on the market situation, he said there are some problems in the market and the government is working to address them.

"You may have noticed that the production chain has been somewhat disrupted, perhaps due to some issues related to fuel and electricity. It will be resolved, InshaAllah," he said.

Meanwhile, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said on July 29 that work on announcing the Ninth Pay Commission for government employees was still underway. He said the recommendations would be placed before the Cabinet soon after the work was completed.

Following Cabinet approval, the process of issuing a gazette notification would begin, he added.

A 10-member committee was formed on April 21, headed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani, to recommend implementation of a new pay structure for government employees. According to sources at the Finance Division, the committee has almost finalised its recommendations.

The committee includes the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Finance Secretary, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Law Secretary, Defence Secretary, Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, Secretary of the Health Services Division, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, and Comptroller General of Accounts.

Nearly a year after the formation of the Ninth National Pay Commission, the interim government formed the 23-member commission on July 27, 2025, nearly 12 years after the Eighth Pay Commission. The commission, headed by former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan, submitted its report to then Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

The Zakir Ahmed Khan Commission recommended retaining the existing 20 grades while increasing salaries and allowances by 100 to 140 percent.

It recommended raising the minimum basic salary from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000. At the top end, it proposed increasing the existing maximum basic salary of Tk 78,000 to Tk 160,000.

The government had earlier announced that the new pay structure would be implemented from July 1 in phases.

Finance Minister Amir Khasru made the announcement while presenting the national budget for fiscal year 2026-27 in Parliament on June 11.

In his budget speech, the finance minister said government employees had been receiving salaries and allowances under the same pay structure for nearly 11 years, while the cost of living had increased significantly due to inflation.

He said the new pay structure would therefore be implemented in phases from July 1.

However, the proposed budget for FY2026-27 does not show a major increase in the allocation for government employees' salaries and allowances. The economic analysis of the proposed operating and development expenditure sets aside Tk 89,836 crore for salaries and allowances of government officials and employees, which is not significantly higher than the revised allocation for FY2025-26.

The final recommendations of the committee and their approval by the Cabinet will determine the structure, scale and timing of implementation of the long-awaited new pay scale.