New pay structure for govt employees may be partially implemented from 1 July

A new pay structure for government officials and employees may be implemented partially from 1 July, the first day of the 2026–27 fiscal year.

According to new recommendations, 50 per cent of the basic salary may be provided in the first year, with the remaining 50 per cent to be given in the 2027–28 fiscal year. Allowances may be added in the 2028–29 fiscal year. This information has been learned from sources at the Ministry of Finance.

A 23-member pay commission, led by former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan, submitted its report with recommendations on salary and allowances to then Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on 21 January.

At the time, the Chief Adviser’s press wing stated that the government’s current expenditure for 1.4 million public employees and 900,000 pensioners stands at Tk 1.31 trillion. Implementing the commission’s proposals may require an additional Tk 1.06 trillion.

In addition to civilian employees, separate pay committee reports have been prepared for the judicial service and the armed forces.

To analyse the three reports and formulate implementation recommendations, the BNP government formed a 10-member high-level committee last month, led by the Cabinet Secretary.

This committee has recommended implementing the pay structure in three phases. Sources say the additional expenditure will be spread over three phases. In the first year, around Tk 350 billion may be allocated in the budget to implement 50 per cent of the basic salary.

The proposed structure includes a recommended salary increase ranging from 100 to 140 per cent. However, the number of grades has been kept unchanged at 20. The ratio between the lowest and highest salaries has been set at 1:8, compared to the previous 1:9.4. The minimum salary is proposed to increase from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000, while the maximum salary may rise from Tk 78,000 to Tk 160,000.

Separate scales beyond the 20 grades proposed for Cabinet Division secretaries, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, and senior secretaries, which will later be issued through official gazette notification.

Professor Muhammad Yunus expressed satisfaction after receiving the report. He said, “This is a very big task. People have been waiting for this for a long time. From the outline, I understand that it has been a very creative piece of work.”

Nearly a decade after the Eighth Pay Commission, the government formed the 23-member Ninth National Pay Commission on 27 July 2025. Although the report was supposed to be submitted within six months, the deadline was extended once. The final deadline was 14 February, but the report was submitted three weeks earlier.

It is learned that the report considered data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, accumulated inflation, salary structures in neighbouring countries, alignment with the private sector, and overall living standards.

An increase in basic salary will automatically raise house rent, medical, and other allowances. The Boishakhi allowance has been recommended to increase from 20 per cent to 50 per cent. It is also proposed to extend transport allowance eligibility from the previous 11th–20th grades to the 10th–20th grades.

Significant changes have also been proposed for pensioners. Those receiving less than Tk 20,000 per month may see an increase of around 100 per cent. Pensions between Tk 20,000 and Tk 40,000 may increase by up to 75 per cent, while pensions above Tk 40,000 may rise by up to 55 per cent. Medical allowances have been proposed at Tk 10,000 for those above 75 years, Tk 8,000 for those aged 55 to 74, and Tk 5,000 for those below 55.

For employees in the higher salary brackets (grades 1 to 10), house rent increases are relatively smaller, while for grades 11 to 20, higher increases have been recommended.

Regarding the government’s plan, former Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told Prothom Alo on Sunday that although implementing it all at once would be better considering inflation, there are fiscal realities to consider. In his view, implementing it in phases is more practical.