Dhaka, Sep 01 (V7N)- Prime Minister's Information Adviser Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman has clarified that government employees' salaries will not simply double if the proposed new pay scale is implemented.
He made the remarks at a briefing at the Directorate of Information on Tuesday afternoon.
The Information Adviser said many government employees have not received a significant revision of their basic pay for a long time. As a result, increments have pushed the salaries of many employees to higher levels within the existing structure.
He said discussions are already underway about how much employees' salaries would actually increase under the proposed new scale.
According to Zahed Ur Rahman, the roadmap for implementing the new pay scale has been announced in phases. The first 10 grades could see increases of up to 100 percent, while the next 10 grades could see increases of up to 142 percent, depending on the implementation stages.
He said the objective is also to reduce the salary disparity between Grade 1 and Grade 20.
The Information Adviser acknowledged concerns that a substantial increase in government salaries could create additional inflationary pressure. He said the government is taking the issue into consideration while working to identify the causes of inflation and take necessary measures.
He said Bangladesh Bank would take steps within its authority to contain inflation, while the government would consider additional regulatory measures where necessary.
Regarding the current inflation situation, Zahed Ur Rahman said inflation has remained high in Bangladesh for a long period. He noted that an inflation rate of around 5–6 percent would generally be considered tolerable, whereas the country had previously experienced double-digit inflation.
According to him, inflation has declined somewhat recently, based on government data.
He warned, however, that increasing the salaries of a large number of government employees could create some additional inflationary risks, which the government will need to manage while implementing the new pay structure.
END/SMA/AJ
