Finance Minister Meets PM Over 9th Pay Scale Implementation

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will chair a high-level meeting today, Sunday (5 April), at the Prime Minister’s Office. Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury is expected to attend the meeting to finalise decisions on the implementation of the new national pay scale for government employees.

Finance Secretary Dr. Md. Khairuzzaman Majumder and other senior officials from relevant ministries will also be present.

The 23-member National Pay Commission, formed by the interim government and headed by former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan, has already submitted its report. The commission recommended a 100 to 140 percent increase in salaries and allowances.

Key Recommendations of the Pay Commission:

• Minimum basic salary: raised from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000
• Maximum basic salary: raised from Tk 78,000 to Tk 1,60,000

Full implementation of the recommendations would require an additional Tk 1,06,000 crore per year.

Due to the current global economic instability and fuel crisis, the government is following a policy of expenditure reduction. As a result, instead of full implementation in the current 2025-26 fiscal year, the new pay scale is likely to be introduced in phases from the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Today’s meeting is expected to take a final decision on how to balance government employees’ expectations with the state’s current financial capacity.