Recommendations of Pay Commission
Sunday, 26 April 2009
The pay commission constituted by the caretaker administration has suggested an 82 per cent hike in the salary of government officials and employees, fixing the highest pay at Tk. 45000 per month and the lowest basic pay at Tk 4000. The commission has also recommended that the government officials should pay their own income tax and the retirement age of government servants should be extended to 60 years. The government, according to an estimate, will have to mop up additional resources amounting to Tk 65 billion if it decides to implement the pay scale as recommended by the commission from the next fiscal year (FY), 2009-10. The commission, being aware of the fact that mobilization of the extra amount would not be that easy in a difficult time, has suggested a few measures in this direction, including expansion of the value added tax (VAT) net and stopping of tax evasion. It has reportedly advised the government to implement its recommendations at one-go.
The Finance Minister, however, while receiving the report from the pay commission late last Thursday, quite logically, raised the issue of the government's capacity to implement its recommendations at one-go. The predicament of the government is understandable, particularly when the economy has started taking a few shocks of the on-going global recession of an unprecedented nature and also when it (government) is experiencing a shortfall of revenue collection from what was earlier projected for the current fiscal. At this stage, the next fiscal does not look to be better promising than that of the current one, in terms of revenue collection. The global economy is set to go into deeper recession in the coming months despite injection of extra funds into developed economies by their governments.
There is no denying that the government has to raise the perks and privileges of its officials and employees to help them cope with the soaring living costs. Actually, such a hike was due when the living costs sky-rocketed in 2008. Though the price of cereals has come down a bit for the last couple of months, the cost of living has not changed much. But the general consumers have some reasons to be worried by the news of a possible hike in the compensation packages for the government servants. For, such a hike, though it involves only some hundred thousand government employees, does tend to push the prices of most essentials and house rent up. Any further increase in the living costs under the present circumstances might deal a severe blow afresh to millions of poor and low income people who have been hit hard by the current economic slowdown. What is more worrying for these consumers is that the prices of a few essentials that had come down to some context in the last three to four months, have started rising again.
Whenever a pay commission recommends some hike in the salary of the government servants, the people in general whose money is given to the government in the form of tax and other fees and charges to maintain a big administrative machinery, look askance at it. For, they are not satisfied with what is delivered by the 'public' servants or the servants of the Republic. In exchange for spending a large amount of money on them, what the people, in most cases, face in government offices is unnecessary harassment. A deep-seated reform that can bring about the necessary changes in the attitude of the government servants to those whom they are supposed to serve is still awaited. There were lots of committees and commissions to this end. The files containing their recommendations have been pushed under the carpet. Should anybody look at the issue again?
The Finance Minister, however, while receiving the report from the pay commission late last Thursday, quite logically, raised the issue of the government's capacity to implement its recommendations at one-go. The predicament of the government is understandable, particularly when the economy has started taking a few shocks of the on-going global recession of an unprecedented nature and also when it (government) is experiencing a shortfall of revenue collection from what was earlier projected for the current fiscal. At this stage, the next fiscal does not look to be better promising than that of the current one, in terms of revenue collection. The global economy is set to go into deeper recession in the coming months despite injection of extra funds into developed economies by their governments.
There is no denying that the government has to raise the perks and privileges of its officials and employees to help them cope with the soaring living costs. Actually, such a hike was due when the living costs sky-rocketed in 2008. Though the price of cereals has come down a bit for the last couple of months, the cost of living has not changed much. But the general consumers have some reasons to be worried by the news of a possible hike in the compensation packages for the government servants. For, such a hike, though it involves only some hundred thousand government employees, does tend to push the prices of most essentials and house rent up. Any further increase in the living costs under the present circumstances might deal a severe blow afresh to millions of poor and low income people who have been hit hard by the current economic slowdown. What is more worrying for these consumers is that the prices of a few essentials that had come down to some context in the last three to four months, have started rising again.
Whenever a pay commission recommends some hike in the salary of the government servants, the people in general whose money is given to the government in the form of tax and other fees and charges to maintain a big administrative machinery, look askance at it. For, they are not satisfied with what is delivered by the 'public' servants or the servants of the Republic. In exchange for spending a large amount of money on them, what the people, in most cases, face in government offices is unnecessary harassment. A deep-seated reform that can bring about the necessary changes in the attitude of the government servants to those whom they are supposed to serve is still awaited. There were lots of committees and commissions to this end. The files containing their recommendations have been pushed under the carpet. Should anybody look at the issue again?