Gazette on new pay scale to be issued today
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Government employees who were anxiously waiting despite prior assurances are finally seeing an end to their wait. The gazette notification for the new pay structure is ready for publication.
A government source confirmed to Agamir Somoy that the notification for the 9th Pay Scale for public employees will be issued today, Saturday.
On Friday night, the source said that printing of the gazette was underway at the BG Press, with an official release expected after midday on Saturday.
On August 31, the Cabinet approved the new pay scale, which raises government employees' salaries by up to 142 percent. Although Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani initially announced that the gazette would be issued within a week, it is being published nearly three weeks later.
Earlier on Monday, a partial draft of the new structure was sent from the Finance Division to the Ministry of Law for vetting, followed shortly by the remaining section. The gazette is being published following approval from the Ministry of Law.
The last pay structure for government employees—the 8th Pay Scale—took effect in 2015. With no new pay structure introduced in nearly 12 years, employees had been pressing for a new scale, and the delay in publishing the gazette following cabinet approval had caused growing concern among them.
Key Highlights of the 9th Pay Scale
Salary Increase Range: Salaries will rise between 100% and 142%, with lower-grade employees receiving higher percentage increases.
Grade Structure: The existing 20-grade structure remains unchanged.
Top-Tier Increments (Grades 1 to 11): Basic pay increases up to 100%. Grade 1 basic salary doubles from Tk 78,000 to Tk 156,000.
Lower-Tier Increments (Grades 12 to 20):
Grade 12: 115%
Grade 13: 118%
Grade 14: 130%
Grades 15 & 16: 135%
Grade 17: 138%
Grade 18: 139%
Grade 19: 141%
Grade 20 (Lowest): 142% (New basic set at Tk 20,000)
The gap between the lowest and highest basic salaries has been reduced from 1:1.945 to 1:1.78.
Implementation Timeline and Financial Impact
The Cabinet Secretary previously noted that while the national pay scale takes effect retrospectively from July 1, implementation will occur in phases across the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years. Priority will be given to lower-income employees, specifically those in Grades 10 through 20.
Basic salaries will be phased in over three stages between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027. Various allowances will take effect simultaneously on January 1, 2028. Net pensions for retirees will be increased incrementally in a similar phased manner.
The pay raise for approximately 2.4 million government employees will cost the exchequer an additional Tk 105,580 crore annually. The government confirmed that dedicated allocations will be made in the fiscal budgets to cover these expenses.
