The interim government council of advisers in a meeting on Thursday formed a new pay commission for fixing pay hikes for public servants under the national pay scale.
Former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan will head the pay commission, said a press release shared by the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing.
The meeting, chaired by chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, has asked the pay commission to submit its report in six months.
Under the current pay scale, introduced in 2015 by the recommendation of the eighth pay commission, the highest basic pay has been聽 Tk 78,000 and minimum basic pay Tk 8,250.
The formation of the new pay commission came less than a month after the interim government introduced a special financial incentive for the public sector employees and pensioners on July 1.
Employees in Grades 1 to 9 have been given an increase by 10 per cent of their basic pay maturing on July 1 every year, while those in Grades 10 to 20 get salary with an increase of 15 per cent, according to an announcement made by finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed made during the announcement of the national budget for the current financial year of 2025-26.
The previous pay commission, headed by former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, was appointed in November 2013.
The Awami League-led regime that was ousted almost a year ago amid a mass uprising implemented the major recommendations of the previous pay commission in two phases 鈥� salary hike since July 2015 and other benefits since July 2016.
The 鈥榃hite Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy鈥�, which was submitted to the interim government in past December, criticised the 2015 pay hikes by almost 100 per cent, describing those as an attempt to appease the bureaucracy following the controversial 2014 Jatiya Sangsad elections.
The white paper, prepared by a team of economists led by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharyia under a policy of the current government, noted that that the pay hikes, coupled with low revenue generation, had contributed to a growing public debt and rising interest payments on loans.
The AL-led government had also implemented the recommendations of the seventh pay commission after forming the government following its massive win in the national polls held in December 2008.
The seventh pay commission was appointed in 2008 by the military-backed caretaker administration.
The first national pay commission was constituted in 1972 while the next five further commissions were formed in 1976, 1984, 1989, 1996, and 2005.聽聽聽
