New pay scale to be placed before cabinet this month

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Monday a report on new pay scale for government employees will be placed before cabinet within this month.

On July 27, the minister had said the report might be placed before the cabinet this week. However, the report was not placed before the cabinet Monday, the day when it meets regularly every week.  

"I did not say that the report would be placed this Monday. Journalists made the mistake. I said, it would be placed before the cabinet by August 01, also said then I even did not send the file to the Prime Minister," he told newsmen replying to a query after he met a delegation of the Bangladesh Government Employees Samannay Parishad (BGESP) at his secretariat office.

Led by BGESP president Hanif Bhuiyan and secretary general Rezaul Mostofa, the delegation members submitted various demands on new pay scale including existence of provision of time scale and selection grade.

They demanded that the number of grades in the new pay scale should be 16 instead of proposed 20 to remove discrimination among the employees.

The employees' leaders also demanded setting the lowest pay at Tk 10,000 instead of proposed Tk 8,250 and for keeping at least Tk 1,000 gap between two grades.

They said though the government is saying that the salary is being doubled in the proposed new pay scale, the third and fourth class employees are being deprived significantly.

"Since the third and fourth class employees do not get promotion to upper grades, time scale and selection grade are the only two options for them to go to higher scale," said Mr Bhuiyan after placing their demand for keeping the provisions of time scale and selection grade in the new pay scale.

He said the difference between proposed grades for employees is only Tk 200 to Tk 300 while the same in case of officers is between Tk 8,000 to Tk 11,000.  

The big difference in wage hike between employees and officers is creating frustration among the employees, he added.   

Mr Muhith, however, did not give any assurance to the delegation members but said he will have a close look at the demands placed.

He said there is nothing for the employees to be frustrated over. "From now on, they will be promoted to upper grade automatically even if time scale and selection grade do not exist in the new pay scale."

He also said a gap in case of salary always exists between employees and officials but the new pay scale will reduce the discrimination.

syful-islam@outlook.com