Government employees’ long-awaited new salary structure may be presented for approval at tomorrow’s, Monday’s, cabinet meeting. If approved that day, it will be issued as a gazette notification by this coming Thursday.
A finance ministry official disclosed the information on condition of anonymity.
The official said the gazette for the new salary structure could be issued within this week. Everything has already been finalized. The cabinet meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday. Preparations are under way to place the new salary structure on the agenda for approval. If approved that day, the gazette will be issued by Thursday. However, finance division officials declined to disclose the rate of salary and allowance increases in the final draft awaiting cabinet approval.
Earlier, on August 16, the prime minister’s principal secretary, A B M Abdus Sattar, told reporters that the new pay scale for government employees was at its final stage and could be announced at any moment.
On July 29, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said work was still under way on announcing the ninth pay commission for government employees. Once the work is complete, he said, it would soon be presented to the cabinet. If the cabinet approves it, the gazette-issuance process would begin.
A 10-member committee, chaired by cabinet secretary Nasimul Gani, was formed on April 21 to recommend implementation of the new salary structure for government employees. The committee has already submitted its recommendations.
People familiar with the matter say the secretary committee has recommended raising the basic salary of government employees from grade 1 to grade 20 by up to 100 percent. This would be implemented in two phases — the basic salary in the first year, and house rent and other allowances in the second.
The Prime Minister’s Office has published an e-book titled “180 Days of the People’s Government,” covering initiatives taken to mark the government’s 180th day.
In the book, under the subheading “Ninth Pay Scale: Big Good News for Government Employees,” the implementation of the new pay scale is highlighted. It states that 89.836 billion taka has been allocated for salaries and allowances in fiscal year 2026-27, and a total of 141.434 billion taka including pension gratuity.
Nearly a dozen years after the eighth pay commission, the interim government formed a 23-member ninth National Pay Commission on July 27, 2025. The commission submitted its report to then-chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on January 21 this year.
The Zakir Ahmed Khan commission recommended keeping the existing 20 grades in place while raising salaries and allowances by 100 to 140 percent. It recommended raising the minimum basic salary from 8,250 taka to 20,000 taka. It recommended raising the maximum salary structure from the current 78,000 taka to 160,000 taka.
Meanwhile, the finance minister announced during the budget presentation in parliament on June 11 that the new salary structure for government employees would be implemented from July 1.
In his budget speech, the minister said government employees have been receiving salaries and allowances under the same salary structure for nearly 11 years. During this time, he said, inflation has significantly increased the cost of living. Therefore, the new salary structure would be implemented in phases starting July 1.