Interim govt not to decide on pay hike for govt employees: Fouzul Kabir Khan

With only 15 days left in its tenure, the interim government will not take any steps to implement a new pay structure for government employees.

Power and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan made the statement while speaking to reporters today, Tuesday after a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Government Purchase at the Secretariat.

Although the meeting was held under the chairmanship of Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, he did not speak to the media afterward. Instead, the power adviser briefed journalists.

Fouzul Kabir Khan said the report on the new pay structure has only been received, but the current interim government has not taken any decision to implement it. A committee has been formed to review the recommendations, and the final decision will be taken by the next government.

He said government employees have been demanding a pay commission for the past 10 to 15 years. As part of that process, a pay commission was formed and it has submitted its report. However, the interim government has not decided on implementing the report.

The adviser added that the pay commission’s recommendations will not be implemented directly. A committee headed by the cabinet secretary has been formed to examine the recommendations, including issues related to financial feasibility.

The committee will make its own recommendations, and the next government will have the option to revise the decision.

Fouzul Kabir Khan said that if the pay commission’s recommendations were implemented in full, the additional expenditure could amount to Tk 1 trillion, which is the maximum possible estimate.

In practice, however, such pay structures are not implemented all at once but in phases, so as not to put excessive pressure on the government.

He said the tenure of the interim government is limited, and therefore it is carrying out preparatory work for the next government.

As examples, he mentioned large-scale planning in the power and energy sector and plans for multimodal connectivity, which will be implemented by the next government. The pay commission issue, he said, is part of that broader continuity.

The adviser also said consideration has been given to ensuring that government employees do not become restless or launch movements, and that no administrative paralysis occurs when the new government takes office.

However, he claimed that the pay commission has no direct link to rising commodity prices.

In response to a question about an initiative to construct 9,000-square-foot flats for ministers, he said he had not seen any such proposal and that no such proposal had been placed before the government procurement committee.