THE Finance Minister last year promised to implement the Pay Commission’s recommendations from January 1 this year but the government allocated an additional Tk 25,553 crore in the current fiscal year’s (2015-16) budget for payment of the first phase of the new pay scale from July 1 in line with recommendations made by the review committee on the National Pay Commission.
Finance Division officials said there is enough allocation in the next budget, including Tk 5,000 crore for implementation of the monthly pay order to selective schools and colleges and pay hike of the existing MPO schools and colleges. From July 1, the new pay structure of the government employees has been implemented. This will enhance the salaries of 1.3 million government employees by 87 to 101 percent in which Tk 75,000 will be the highest basic pay and Tk 8,250 the lowest.
Besides, Tk10,295 crore is hidden in assistance and grant head to pay salaries of civil servants and Tk 5,000 crore for teachers of MPO listed schools and colleges. According to Finance Division officials, lawmakers would pressure the Finance Minister to give monthly pay order to new schools and colleges which is why the Finance Minister refused to say when the new pay scale would be implemented. Meanwhile, in the last (2014-15) fiscal year’s revised budget, a total of Tk14,374 crore was earmarked for paying salaries of civil servants and defence staff. In the current fiscal year’s (2015-16) proposed budget, Tk 29,628 crore has been allocated for paying salaries of civil servants and defence staff along with those engaged in development projects.
This attempt to garner the support of the self-seeking autocrats who are bureaucrats in guise only is nothing but an attempt at massive bribery using the money of the people to garner the support of those who rule so that the same rule remains firmly entrenched. It is the job of public servants to help the people but instead they are busy helping themselves. Helping themselves to inordinate rises in their salaries with the hard-earned tax-payers’ money of the Public Exchequer is simply an attempt to earn more for doing absolutely nothing extra.
If our public servants had indeed been highly efficient then the raises would be justifiable and indeed, quite acceptable. As it is, a certain section of them are busy doing nothing but filling their pockets and making fortunes at the expense of the people who they are duty bound to serve. But alas! not duty but service to themselves is only fast becoming the order of the day. While millions eke out a miserable living — or starve in doing so, less than one percent of the labour force will enjoy sustained increases in their wages without their being any parallel increase in their productivity. This will only give rise to inflation which will fuel a further increase in their wages. It is a vicious cycle with no end but will continue to be part of the future as we see — as those who always are in charge will always finds ways of serving their ends.
