Separate pay scales for BB, SCBs unlikely this fiscal
Monday, 18 January 2010
Nazmul Ahsan
The separate pay scales for the staffs of Bangladesh Bank (BB) and three state-owned corporatised banks are unlikely to be finalised during the remaining period of the current fiscal year due mainly to procedural complexities and bureaucratic tangles, official sources said.
The Finance Minister A MA Muhith responded positively to the proposal for separate pay scales for BB, Sonali Bank Ltd, Janata Bank Ltd and Agrani Bank ltd on December 18, 2009.
Muhith at a recent meeting with BB Governor and Chief Executive Officers of three state-owned banks concerned asked to submit their respective new pay structures to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for approval.
Prior to their submission to the MoF, the pay scales have to be approved by the boards of the respective banks. The banks are yet to finalise their pay scales, banking sources said.
Officials of corporatised banks said they need at least 2-3 months to prepare a unified pay structure for about 50,000 officials and employees of three banks. The Chairmen of the banks concerned are expected to hold a meeting to formulate a guideline for the preparation of pay scales for their staffs.
After finalizing the guidelines, a comparative pay structures would be drafted, taking into cognizance the salaries and other benefits the private commercial banks offer to their officials and employees, bankers said.
The draft pay scales will then be placed to the respective bank boards for approval, they added.
"It will need at least 2 to 3 months to finalise our pay structures," a managing director of a state-owned bank told the FE.
Meanwhile, state-owned banks and financial institutions have already implemented the latest government pay scale.
On the other hand, the BB has not implemented the National Pay Scale. A separate pay scale for its officials and employees is likely to be placed at the board meeting of the BB in the first week of February, sources said.
Officials in the MoF said they would form a committee to examine the pay scale proposals before recommending the same to the government.
The committee might be given two months time to scrutinize the proposals of BB and three-banks, an official concerned said.
After getting the report from the proposed committee, 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'.
The clause 5(1) of the Act says no separate pay scale for any state-owned organisation -- be it fully government or autonomous -- is justified.
Once the Cabinet approves the exclusion of the BB and three banks from the Act the MoF will okay the report of the committee, officials said.
However, a section of the MoF officials are opposed to the introduction of separate pay scales for public sector bank staffs, particularly those of the BB, according to sources.
The separate pay scales for the staffs of Bangladesh Bank (BB) and three state-owned corporatised banks are unlikely to be finalised during the remaining period of the current fiscal year due mainly to procedural complexities and bureaucratic tangles, official sources said.
The Finance Minister A MA Muhith responded positively to the proposal for separate pay scales for BB, Sonali Bank Ltd, Janata Bank Ltd and Agrani Bank ltd on December 18, 2009.
Muhith at a recent meeting with BB Governor and Chief Executive Officers of three state-owned banks concerned asked to submit their respective new pay structures to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for approval.
Prior to their submission to the MoF, the pay scales have to be approved by the boards of the respective banks. The banks are yet to finalise their pay scales, banking sources said.
Officials of corporatised banks said they need at least 2-3 months to prepare a unified pay structure for about 50,000 officials and employees of three banks. The Chairmen of the banks concerned are expected to hold a meeting to formulate a guideline for the preparation of pay scales for their staffs.
After finalizing the guidelines, a comparative pay structures would be drafted, taking into cognizance the salaries and other benefits the private commercial banks offer to their officials and employees, bankers said.
The draft pay scales will then be placed to the respective bank boards for approval, they added.
"It will need at least 2 to 3 months to finalise our pay structures," a managing director of a state-owned bank told the FE.
Meanwhile, state-owned banks and financial institutions have already implemented the latest government pay scale.
On the other hand, the BB has not implemented the National Pay Scale. A separate pay scale for its officials and employees is likely to be placed at the board meeting of the BB in the first week of February, sources said.
Officials in the MoF said they would form a committee to examine the pay scale proposals before recommending the same to the government.
The committee might be given two months time to scrutinize the proposals of BB and three-banks, an official concerned said.
After getting the report from the proposed committee, 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'.
The clause 5(1) of the Act says no separate pay scale for any state-owned organisation -- be it fully government or autonomous -- is justified.
Once the Cabinet approves the exclusion of the BB and three banks from the Act the MoF will okay the report of the committee, officials said.
However, a section of the MoF officials are opposed to the introduction of separate pay scales for public sector bank staffs, particularly those of the BB, according to sources.