Ninth pay scale gazette may be issued today

The gazette for Bangladesh’s ninth national pay scale may be issued today, Thursday (September 17), as the Finance Ministry moves to complete the remaining formalities.

A Finance Ministry official familiar with the process told The Daily Campus that the vetting by the Law Ministry is nearly complete, with a few remaining procedures expected to be completed by this afternoon. If those steps are completed on schedule, the gazette could be issued in the evening.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said:

“The gazette for the ninth national pay scale may be issued today. Work on issuing the gazette is underway.”

However, the publication could be delayed if the remaining procedures are not completed today.

The government announced the new pay structure on August 31. Cabinet Secretary had earlier said the structure would be published as a gazette within a week, but nearly two weeks have passed without the formal notification.

Finance Division officials have said there is no reason for government employees to be disappointed, as the process is progressing and an announcement on the gazette is expected soon.

How much will salaries increase?

The new pay scale, the first major revision in more than a decade, provides for substantial increases across government pay grades. Salaries for officials in grades 1 to 11 have been increased by 100%, effectively doubling their basic pay.

For employees in the lowest, 20th grade, the increase is up to 142%. Under the new structure, the minimum basic salary has been set at Tk 20,000, while the maximum basic salary for first-grade officials will be Tk 156,000.

The Cabinet Division has said the new pay structure will be implemented in three phases. It will take effect from July 1 this year, meaning government employees will receive the benefits of the new structure from the July salary period.

The government will have to spend an additional estimated Tk 105,000 crore a year to provide the revised salaries and allowances to around 2.4 million government employees.

How the new pay scale was developed

The process began in 2025 when the interim government formed the National Pay Commission, 2025, headed by former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan. The commission submitted its report to the government on January 22, recommending salary and allowance increases of between 100% and 140%.

It proposed raising the minimum basic salary from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000 and the maximum from Tk 78,000 to Tk 160,000. The commission also recommended increasing the Boishakhi allowance from 20% to 50% and introducing major changes to transport allowances for employees in grades 10 to 20.

After the BNP government took office, a 10-member committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani was formed on April 21 to review the pay structure. The government subsequently approved the new pay scale after considering the committee’s recommendations.