Finance minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said a Permanent Pay Commission for public servants will be formed by mid-November.
“We have only 15-20 days in hand for taking a decision in principle. So, we will form the Permanent Pay Commission by November 15.A chairman for the commission will be appointed soon,” the minister told reporters after meeting a delegation of Bangladesh Audit and Accounts Officers’ Association at the secretariat.
Muhith said the commission would identify the disparities in wages among different cadres and services, and would suggest to the government to remove the anomalies. He also informed reporters that the commission’s tenure will be for six months, which could be extended later if needed. A separate pay scale for Bangladesh Bank officials will also be finalised by November 15, he added.
On October 6, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced a flat 20 per cent rise in dearness allowance for government employees. She had also unveiled plans to form a Permanent Pay Commission with just three months to go before the next general election.
The government had issued a gazette notification the next day on the revised dearness allowance and said it would take retrospective effect from July 1.
The present government had raised the wages of its employees on July 1, 2009, as per the suggestions of the 7th Pay Commission, which was formed during the caretaker government’s regime in 2007.
The government had formed pay commissions for public servants in 2005, 1996, 1984, 1976 and in 1972.
At present, the number of government employees is 1.3 million.
Regarding the parliamentary election, Muhith said it may be held either in the first or second week of January.
“The Election Commission has informed us that they would need 45 days for holding the election. I am adding five more days to that. So, it would require 50 days for holding the polls. The executive power of the government will be reduced during that period,” he added.
-With The Independent input
