Draft Pay Scale Heads Towards Cabinet Approval

Preparations are under way to place the draft proposal for Bangladesh’s much-anticipated ninth national pay scale before the Cabinet, with the proposal already receiving in-principle approval from the committee led by the Cabinet Secretary.

Officials familiar with the process said the draft could be presented at a Cabinet meeting this week, subject to the Prime Minister’s approval. The Cabinet, however, will retain the authority to make changes to the proposal before taking a final decision on its implementation.

The proposed salary structure recommends raising the basic pay of government employees by as much as 100 per cent. The increase would not be uniform across all grades. Instead, the committee has recommended relatively larger increases for employees in the lower grades compared with those in the higher grades.

Under the draft plan, the ninth pay scale is expected to be introduced in two stages. The first stage would focus on increasing basic salaries, while the second would cover allowances and other financial benefits. The final number of implementation phases, however, will be determined by the Cabinet.

According to the preliminary timetable, partial implementation could begin from July this year. The government is targeting full implementation of the new salary structure by January 2028, although the schedule remains subject to the Cabinet’s final approval and any subsequent administrative adjustments.

The issue has gained particular significance because the previous, eighth national pay scale was introduced in 2015. Nearly a decade has since passed without a new national salary structure, even though government employees have continued to receive annual increments. During this period, living costs and consumer prices have risen substantially, strengthening calls for a comprehensive revision of public-sector salaries.

The ninth Pay Commission submitted its report to the government in July 2025. It had recommended a considerably larger increase in basic salaries, ranging from 100 to 140 per cent. Among its key proposals was raising the minimum basic salary from Tk8,250 to Tk20,000 and the maximum basic salary from Tk78,000 to Tk160,000.

The figures contained in the commission’s report are not necessarily the final amounts that government employees will receive. The latest draft prepared by the secretaries’ committee may differ from the commission’s recommendations, as the government has been examining the financial implications and administrative aspects of introducing the new structure.

A further complication has emerged over issues involving the judiciary. To address those matters and facilitate the finalisation of the pay scale, the government has formed a seven-member special committee headed by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The committee’s work is expected to help resolve outstanding issues before the proposal reaches its final stage. Questions surrounding the scale of salary increases, allowances, implementation phases and the financial burden on the state will remain central to the Cabinet’s deliberations.

For government employees, the Cabinet decision will be closely watched because it will determine whether the long-awaited pay revision moves from a policy proposal to actual implementation. Once the Cabinet approves the framework, a clearer picture is expected to emerge regarding the revised salary levels, benefits and precise implementation timetable.

The final decision will therefore depend not only on the proposed increases but also on the government’s assessment of fiscal capacity, administrative feasibility and the outstanding issues that remain to be settled.