No final decision on pay scale implementation: Energy adviser

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, on Tuesday clarified that the interim government is not taking any decision to implement a new pay scale.

He said the pay commission’s report has only been accepted, but no final decision has been made regarding its implementation. Any future elected government will be free to amend or cancel the decision if it wishes.

The adviser made the remarks after meetings of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Procurement and the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs.

He noted that government employees had long been demanding a pay commission, and in response, an independent pay commission submitted its report. However, as the interim government has a limited tenure, it will not proceed with implementing a new pay scale.

He further stated that no decision has yet been taken on implementing the commission’s recommendations. A committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, has been formed to review the recommendations, taking into account issues such as financial capacity, inflation, and phased implementation, and to provide its opinion.

Responding to a question on whether a future government could scrap the recommendations, the adviser said that the next government would have full authority to do so. “Just as this government can take its own decisions, the next government will be equally empowered to take any decision,” he said.

When asked about the estimated Tk 1.06 trillion cost of implementing the recommendations, he said the amount would apply only if the recommendations were implemented in full and all at once.

On whether such recommendations would create pressure on the next government, he said, “We are a government with a limited tenure. We are undertaking many initiatives so that the next government can benefit.”