NEW PAY STRUCTURE: Announcement to be delayed again

Finance ministry officials said they were now scrutinizing the recommendations from the secretary-level committee as well as the 8th national pay and service commission led by former Bangladesh Bank governor Farash Uddin Ahmed.
The pay and service commission gave its recommendations in December.
The scrutiny process was getting longer in view of the protests lodged by low paid government employees and the teachers of public university against the recommendations, said finance ministry officials.
The Class III and IV employees of the government demanded retention of the decades old timescales and selection grades and vehemently opposed their abolition as recommended by the pay commission and the secretary-level committee headed by cabinet secretary Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.
The secretary level committee submitted its recommendations in May.
Finance ministry officials described the issues as critical as grades of the Class III and IV employees used to get automatically changed under the selection grades and time scales to enhance their salaries even if they didn’t get promotions.
Abolition of time scales and selection grades could prompt resentments among the low paid police personnel as they enjoyed the benefits for long, said the officials.
They said it could take longer than expected to harmonize the pay structure to
ward off discontent.
In may, finance minister AMA Muhith said that the new pay structure would be announced in due time for implementation from July.
On Monday Muhith said it would not be possible to declare the new pay structure before October.
He told New Age that the recommendations were still under scrutiny.
He said the existing pay structure was implemented one year after the previous pay commission gave its recommendations in 2008.
He said that there was no reason for the government employees to be worried as the new pay structure would be implemented with retrospective effect from July.
The eighth national pay and service commission recommended doubling the salary.
The secretary level committee recommended fixing the maximum salary at Tk 90,000 and the lowest at Tk 8,250.
It recommended placing officers enjoying the rank of secretary at Grade I with a monthly consolidated pay of Tk 75,000.
It recommended the consolidated monthly salary of Tk 78,000 for secretaries heading a ministry or division creating fresh disparities.
It recommended placing the cabinet secretary, the principal secretary and senior secretaries above the 20-grade pay structure.
The Bangladesh Government Employees Coordination Council, representing the Class III and IV employees demanded retention of timescales and selection grades and fixing the minimum basic pay at Tk 18,000.