TDS Desk:

The government on September 17 issued a gazette notification on the new pay scale and allowances for government officials and employees terming it Service (Salary and Allowances) Order, 2026, sources of the Ministry of Finance confirmed.

Under the gazette, government officials and employees will receive the increase in basic salary in phases, along with arrears.

From 1 July to 31 December, officials in Grade 9 and above will receive 40 per cent of the increase in basic salary under the new structure, while officials and employees in grades 10 to 20 will receive 50 per cent.

The amount will be added to the basic salary drawn or payable as of 30 June.

From 1 January to 30 June 2027, officials in Grade 9 and above will receive 70 per cent of the increase in basic salary, while those in Grades 10 to 20 will receive 75 per cent.

The full increase in basic salary will take effect from 1 July 2027.

As the new pay structure has been made effective from 1 July 2026, government officials and employees will also receive arrears.

Public officials and employees will begin receiving all other allowances under the new structure from 1 January 2028, while pensioners will also receive all corresponding benefits.

BASIC PAY RISES UP TO 142 PER CENT

The new pay structure retains the existing 20 grades, with basic salaries rising by between 100 per cent and 142 per cent depending on grade.

The basic salary for Grade 20 has been raised by 142 per cent to Tk20,000 from Tk8,250, while the Grade 1 basic salary has been doubled to Tk156,000 from Tk78,000. The Grade 20 and Grade 1 salary levels match those approved by the Cabinet on 31 August.

Implementing the new pay scale for around 24 lakh government officials and employees will cost the government an additional Tk1,05,580 crore a year.

Nearly 9.25 lakh pensioners will also receive benefits under the new structure.

Alongside the main gazette, separate statutory regulatory orders, or SROs, will be issued for civilian officials and employees, police, Border Guard Bangladesh, the armed forces, autonomous and state-owned institutions and the judicial service.

FROM COMMISSION TO CABINET

The gazette follows the formation of the 23-member Ninth National Pay Commission by the interim government on 27 July last year, nearly a decade after the Eighth Pay Commission.

Headed by former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan, the commission submitted its report to then chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on 21 January this year, recommending salary and allowance increases ranging from 100 per cent to 140 per cent.

The government subsequently formed a 10-member committee on 21 April, chaired by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani, to recommend how the new pay structure should be implemented.

The committee later finalised its recommendations.

Taking those recommendations into account, the Cabinet approved the new pay scale on 31 August at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.