Ninth National Pay Commission submits report to CA

The Ninth National Pay Commission on Wednesday submitted its report to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guesthouse Jamuna in the capital.

The 23-member commission, led by its Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan, presented the report in the afternoon, three weeks ahead of its deadline, said the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Finance Secretary Dr Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder and all full-time and part-time members of the commission were present.

The government formed the 23-member Ninth National Pay Commission on 27 July last year and set a six-month deadline for submitting its report.

This commission was constituted after a long gap of 12 years following the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission in 2013. The final deadline for submission of the report was 14 February. The commission prepared its report by spending only 18% of its allocated budget.

After receiving the report, the Chief Adviser expressed satisfaction and thanked the members of the commission.

On the occasion, he said, “This is a very big task. People have been waiting for it for a long time. From the outline, I realize that this is a very creative work”.

Speaking on the occasion, the Commission chief said that over the past decade there have been significant changes in almost all economic indicators at both global and national levels.

In particular, the prices of essential commodities have increased manifold, he said, adding, due to the absence of a timely and appropriate pay structure, meeting the cost of living has gradually become difficult for government employees.

In this context, Zakir Ahmed said, the commission worked with clearly defined Terms of Reference to review existing pay, allowances, and other benefits and to formulate necessary recommendations.

Following the defined Terms of Reference and with the aim of preparing timely and realistic recommendations, he said, the pay commission held 184 meetings both online and offline with various stakeholders and received opinions and proposals from 2,552 individuals.

In addition, extensive consultations were held through discussion meetings with representatives of various associations and organizations, the commission head added.

Another important responsibility of the commission was to determine the necessary financial resources for implementing the proposed pay structure and to review its feasibility, said Zakir Ahmed.

On the occasion, Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said that implementation of the proposals is now the next task. For this purpose, a committee will be formed to work on the implementation process, he added.

The commission recommended a 20-grade pay structure for government employees. It proposed increasing the minimum pay grade from Tk8,250 to Tk20,000 and the maximum pay grade from Tk78,000 to Tk160,000.

The commission chief said that Tk1,06,000 crore will be required to implement the proposals. At present, the government’s expenditure for 14 lakh government employees and 9 lakh pensioners amounts to Tk1,31,000 crore.

The new proposals of the commission included the introduction of health insurance for government employees, reform of the pension system, rearranging the Government Employees Welfare Board, formation of a Service Commission, rational restructuring of pay grades and scales, formation of a committee to review allowances in government offices, and human resource development in the health and education sectors.

If an employee has a differently-abled child, the Pay Commission recommends a monthly allowance of Tk2,000. However, in all cases a maximum of two children will receive this benefit.

The report further stated that while the current provisions of Tiffin Allowance continue, the commission has recommended an increase in the rate of allowance.

The current monthly Tiffin Allowance for employees in grades 11 to 20 may be increased to Tk1,000 from Tk200.