Proposed pay scales for BB, SCBs get stuck in bureaucratic quagmire

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Nazmul Ahsan
The finalization of separate pay scales for the staffs of Bangladesh Bank (BB) and three state-owned corporatised banks has hit a fresh snag.
The committee of secretaries on separate pay scale has asked the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs (MLPA) to examine the rationale of the proposed scales and justification behind excluding the staffs from the government's existing unified pay scale, official sources said.
A meeting of the held recently at the Cabinet Division and presided over by its chairman, MD Abdul Aziz, who is also the cabinet secretary, asked the MLPA to examine the issue in the light of the 'Government Service (reconstitution and conditions) Act 1975', while making recommendations a government secretary said.
Officials in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said the examination by MLPA on the same issue was completed in late 2007. The law ministry responded positively to the proposal of excluding the staffs of BB and three state-owned banks after MoF had sought their opinion during the regime of last caretaker government.
"Examining the Act again means eating more time," a high official in the MoF said.
According to clause 5(1) of the Government Service (reconstitution and conditions) Act 1975, no separate pay scale for any state-owned organisation -- be it fully government or autonomous -- is justified.
The secretary-level committee on separate pay scale was formed about three months back after Finance Minister AMA Muhith approved the separate pay scales for the staffs of Bangladesh Bank (BB) and three state-owned corporatised banks.
The committee was given one month's time to recommend to the government the pay structures after examining the same received separately from BB and three state-owned banks-Sonali, Janata and Agrani, sources said.
The BB and three public sector banks submitted their separate pay scales to MoF about two months back.
The Bangladesh Bank officials expressed their frustration over the bureaucratic tangle, saying the issue has remained unresolved for the last four years without any valid reason.
Despite a 5500-strong staff, the central bank is short of skilled manpower to oversee the country's booming financial sector, said a BB official.
Top state-owned banks have long demanded market-driven pay scales for thousands of their officers, complaining that low wages have prompted many of their young talents to join private banks.
"An officer at a state-owned bank earns between Tk.12000 and Tk.14000 per month while his counterpart in a private bank earns twice or thrice the amount," said a senior state banker.
"A mid-level private banker earns six-figure salary, which is more than twice the amount a senior banker makes in a state-owned bank," he said.
BB officials said Bangladesh is the only country in South Asia where central banks and state-owned financial institutions do not have separate pay scales.
Central banks in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India have fixed their salaries in a way that their employees feel like joining private companies.
After getting the report from the, the MoF will send a proposal to the cabinet division to exclude BB and three corporatised banks from the 'Government Service (reconstitution and conditions) Act 1975', an official said.
The committee has so far held only one meeting last week. A total of eight government secretaries including finance, planning, law, defence and establishment ministries are the members of the committee.
A deputy governor of the BB will soon be co-opted on the committee, a MoF official said.