Pay hike for public servants unlikely in current fiscal
Friday, 28 September 2007
Shakhawat Hossain
The caretaker government is unlikely to give special financial benefit to its officials and employees in the current fiscal to compensate for price hike of essential commodities due to resources constraint, sources said.
Only a 10 per cent hike in the compensation package of the public sector officers and employees will cost the public exchequer more than Tk 12.0 billion.
The implementation of such salary-hike is a difficult task for the present government, which is struggling to maintain a balance in its revenue income and expenditure in the current fiscal, sources added.
The government, however, may take decision on the issue in the current fiscal and may implement it in the next fiscal, a member of the recommendation committee said.
The committee that was assigned to fix the special financial benefit by November next held its second meeting today (Thursday) at the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting reviewed different economic indicators like prevailing inflation rate, the country's per capita income, cost of living and commodity prices in the global market.
It also reviewed the steps that have been taken in the neighbouring countries to address inflationary pressure on the compensation package.
However, the meeting ended inconclusively as it could not determine a rational rise of salary taking the government revenue income into consideration, added the official.
The official said if 10 per cent increase over the existing salary is considered it will cost the government additional Tk 12.0 billion and a 20 per cent hike will require nearly Tk 25.00 billion.
"Taking the responsibility of additional financial burden in the current fiscal is a difficult task," said the official, adding that maintaining a budget discipline might then be hampered.
Most of the committee members at the Thursday's meeting, according to the official, gave positive opinion on salary increase due to prevailing high inflation that crossed double digit mark on point to point basis July last.
The government has projected to keep the annual inflation at below 7.0 per cent for the current fiscal.
But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) feared that the prevailing inflation might continue to rise and hit 9.0 per cent at the end of the fiscal due to price hike of commodities in the international market and sluggish domestic economic activities.
The immediate past political government approved the last pay scale in 2005 with a 53.33 per cent salary hike for all categories of government officials in the highest grade and 60 per cent in the lowest tier.
It was implemented in three phases. The pay hike cost the government Tk 39.75 billion.
Some 1.55 million, including 828,000 civil servants, 140,000 defence officials and 560,000 teachers on the Monthly Payment Order (MPO) were benefited by the last pay hike.
The caretaker government is unlikely to give special financial benefit to its officials and employees in the current fiscal to compensate for price hike of essential commodities due to resources constraint, sources said.
Only a 10 per cent hike in the compensation package of the public sector officers and employees will cost the public exchequer more than Tk 12.0 billion.
The implementation of such salary-hike is a difficult task for the present government, which is struggling to maintain a balance in its revenue income and expenditure in the current fiscal, sources added.
The government, however, may take decision on the issue in the current fiscal and may implement it in the next fiscal, a member of the recommendation committee said.
The committee that was assigned to fix the special financial benefit by November next held its second meeting today (Thursday) at the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting reviewed different economic indicators like prevailing inflation rate, the country's per capita income, cost of living and commodity prices in the global market.
It also reviewed the steps that have been taken in the neighbouring countries to address inflationary pressure on the compensation package.
However, the meeting ended inconclusively as it could not determine a rational rise of salary taking the government revenue income into consideration, added the official.
The official said if 10 per cent increase over the existing salary is considered it will cost the government additional Tk 12.0 billion and a 20 per cent hike will require nearly Tk 25.00 billion.
"Taking the responsibility of additional financial burden in the current fiscal is a difficult task," said the official, adding that maintaining a budget discipline might then be hampered.
Most of the committee members at the Thursday's meeting, according to the official, gave positive opinion on salary increase due to prevailing high inflation that crossed double digit mark on point to point basis July last.
The government has projected to keep the annual inflation at below 7.0 per cent for the current fiscal.
But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) feared that the prevailing inflation might continue to rise and hit 9.0 per cent at the end of the fiscal due to price hike of commodities in the international market and sluggish domestic economic activities.
The immediate past political government approved the last pay scale in 2005 with a 53.33 per cent salary hike for all categories of government officials in the highest grade and 60 per cent in the lowest tier.
It was implemented in three phases. The pay hike cost the government Tk 39.75 billion.
Some 1.55 million, including 828,000 civil servants, 140,000 defence officials and 560,000 teachers on the Monthly Payment Order (MPO) were benefited by the last pay hike.