Salaries, allowances to rise significantly in new pay scale

After prolonged discussions and speculation, the implementation timeline for the long-awaited new pay scale for government employees is nearing finalisation.

According to sources at the Pay Commission and the Ministry of Finance, a proposal has been made to partially introduce the new pay structure from 1 January 2026.

Full implementation is expected to begin on 1 July 2026, the first day of the 2026–27 fiscal year.

The new pay scale places particular emphasis on improving the standard of living of lower-grade officials and staff. Under the proposed recommendations, the current minimum basic salary of Tk8,250 is set to more than double to Tk18,000. At the upper end, the maximum salary is proposed to be increased from Tk78,000 to over Tk120,000.

The commission has also proposed maintaining a ratio of 1:8 between the highest and lowest salaries to help reduce wage disparity.

Fully implementing the revised pay structure will require an additional Tk70,000–80,000 crore annually. To accommodate this increased expenditure, an additional Tk22,000 crore has already been allocated for operational costs in the revised budget of the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, under the ninth pay scale, the Pay Commission is set to recommend an increase in medical allowances for government employees from Tk3,500 to Tk5,000. The relevant recommendations will be submitted to the Chief Adviser’s Office next Wednesday.

A source at the Pay Commission said on Monday that the new pay scale proposes two categories of medical allowance. Employees aged 40 or below will be entitled to a monthly medical allowance of Tk4,000, while those above 40 will receive Tk5,000.

In addition, the National Pay Commission is preparing to significantly increase the Bengali New Year (Boishakhi) allowance to make Pohela Boishakh celebrations more festive for government employees. Under the ninth pay scale, the final recommendation is to raise this allowance from the current 20 per cent of basic pay to 50 per cent.

The commission will submit its final report on these matters to the Chief Adviser on Wednesday. At present, government employees receive the Boishakhi allowance at a rate of 20 per cent of their basic salary; the new proposal would raise this to half of the basic salary.

A member of the Pay Commission said that despite the major change to the Boishakhi allowance, bonuses for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha will remain unchanged under the existing system.