Pay hikes for govt employees would curb corruption: Khosru

The new pay scale for government employees is set to be implemented from 1 July and would lead to decreased corruption in the public sector, said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury at a post-budget press conference on Friday.

Over the past 11 years, consumer inflation has surged but no new pay scale was announced for public employees, which naturally nudged them into corrupt practices, the minister said at the presser hosted at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.

Over the past decade, the salaries of private sector employees were adjusted in line with inflation trends, but the government employees unfortunately had to miss out, he noted.

It is an undeniable and natural phenomenon that when people suffer from poor income they tend to get corrupt, Amir Khosru further said.

Therefore, the government expects that the new pay scale will hike financial benefits for public employees, improve their lifestyle and by default lead to a reduction in corrupt tendencies, he said.

The government is set to roll-out in phases the 9th pay scale for government employees from the start of the next fiscal year on 1 July.

Referring to new job creation, he said new job opportunities have been clearly outlined in the budget proposal for the fiscal year 2026-27.

But the government is focusing on skill development as years of low education qualities and poor training programmes have created a big gap between the skills among the existing workforce and the era’s on-demand skill sets.

A skilled worker can easily access jobs at both home and abroad, he added.