Pay hike for public servants on cards before next poll

The government is expected to announce a fresh salary hike for its servants ahead of the general election as a panel has already finalised recommendations to adjust perks and packages for offsetting the general inflation.
Officials said a secretary-level committee formed last May to review the pay scale finalised the recommendations that would allow the government to introduce salary hike for the public officers and employees once in a year instead of every five years in the previous system. 
At present, about two million public officials and employees are receiving salaries as per the 8th pay scale introduced in 2016 that replaced the seventh pay scale approved in 2010.
The major recommendation of the committee, according to officials, is that the hike in salary would be implemented if the inflation stayed over five per cent.
The committee suggested that the salary would remain the same if the national inflation would remain below five per cent.
It also suggested that a cell be established in the ministry of finance to deal with the matter, they said, adding that finance minister AMA Muhith was expected to make the announcement of salary hike during presentation of the national budget in June. 
NM Zeaul Alam, committee chief and also secretary of Coordination and Reforms of the Cabinet Division, told New Age on Thursday that they mainly focused on inflation in preparing the recommendations.
Twelve-month average food and general inflation stood at 7.17 per cent and 5.70 per cent respectively in December 2017 compared to 4.51 per cent and 5.52 per cent in December 2016.
The general inflation in the current fiscal year would be higher as the rice price hike by almost 30 per cent has pushed general consumer price index to 5.14 per cent in rural areas from 4.09 per cent and 5.62 per cent in urban area from 5.57 per cent in January.
Zeaul Alam said the government would depend on inflation data prepared by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to determine the rate of hike.
There was scope to fix the rate of increase on perception, he said, adding that they would submit the recommendations to the Cabinet Division this week.
Officials said the recommendations would be examined by the ministry of finance before taking approval of the cabinet.
While appointing the committee, finance minister AMA Muhith said the government would introduce the automatic annual pay rise for civil servants keeping pace with inflation instead of increasing salaries through pay commissions before 2019.
He said no pay commission would be formed in the future.
Finance division has allocated Tk 53,833 core in the current fiscal for the payment of salaries and allowances from Tk 49,751 crore in 2016-17.
It has also calculated 20 per cent pay rise annually following introduction of the automatic salary adjustment formula against the backdrop of 17 per cent rise in the size of the national budget in recent years.
The last national pay commission headed by former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammad Farashuddin recommended increasing salaries by 5 to 8 per cent each year.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net