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Online Reporter/

Increments of government employees may be increased to deal with inflationary pressure due to increase in prices of goods. The annual increment may be increased from 5 percent to 8 to 10 percent. In this regard, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal can announce the budget speech for the next financial year 2023-24.
According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, the Finance Department has already started working on increasing the rate of increment. Presently the annual increment is 5 percent of the basic salary. However, point-to-point inflation has exceeded 9 percent. On the other hand, average inflation is slightly less than 9 percent. Considering the pressure of inflation, the government is thinking of increasing the rate of increment.

According to sources, in the budget speech, there will be an announcement that the salaries of government officials and employees will be adjusted with the current inflation. However, the process of determining the salary hike and at what rate will begin after the budget is announced in June. After completing the entire process, the gazette can be issued in August-September. But whenever the pay hike gazette is issued, it will be effective from the month of July.

In the context of the Ukraine-Russia war, two years of rising inflation led to demands for a new pay scale among government employees. In the context of this, the issue of expensive allowance for them in the next budget is discussed. In the end, salary hikes are being considered in line with inflation without giving expensive allowances. According to the information of the Finance Department, the total number of posts of government employees under various ministries and departments is 12 lakh 46 thousand. The estimated allocation in the next financial year’s budget for their salaries and allowances with 5 percent increments is 77 thousand crores. But out of the total posts, 2 lakh 70 thousand posts are vacant. As a result, the entire allocation for salaries and allowances will not be spent in the next financial year. Therefore, the increase in salary of government employees due to adjustment of inflation rate may be possible from this allocation. Or even if there is an additional cost, its amount will be very small. In the global economic situation, the government has taken cost saving measures in various sectors since last few years. As a part of this, in the current fiscal year, 1 thousand 93 crore rupees have been reduced in the salary sector of government employees and 73 thousand 173 crore rupees have been kept in the revised budget. In the original budget, the allocation for this sector was 74 thousand 266 crores. In July 2015, the pay scale was announced and the salary of the government employees was increased up to 100%. Since then employees are getting 5 percent increment in July every year. However, it is proposed to increase the increment in that pay scale taking into account inflation. A high-level committee headed by the finance minister was also formed for this. But later, as the proposal was not implemented, even though the rate of inflation is high, the employees are getting increments at the rate of 5 percent.

Sources in the Finance Department said that after the announcement of the budget, the Finance Minister or the Finance Secretary will meet the Prime Minister in this regard. They will seek instructions from the Prime Minister whether to increase the increment on a point-to-point basis or annual average inflation rate. Apart from this, the Ministry of Finance will also seek guidance on whether the salary will be increased at the same rate for all from 20th grade to 1st grade. The decision to increase the salary will be based on that.

According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate in April was 9.24 percent. And the average inflation rate of last May-April 12 months is 8.64 percent. Before the Ukraine-Russia war, the official inflation rate was between 5 and 6 percent.