Secretary Committee meeting today to finalize recommendations for 9th pay scale

An important meeting of the reconstituted Secretary Committee is scheduled to be held at the Secretariat today (Wednesday) to implement the much-awaited 9th National Pay Scale. The meeting may review the draft recommendations of the new pay structure and take a final decision.

According to relevant sources, the proposed salary increase for officers and employees of various grades, the new structure of annual increments and the restructuring of various allowances will be discussed seriously in the meeting. If there is no consensus on any issue, it may be finalized in the next meeting and sent to the cabinet for approval.

The draft proposal includes a significant increase in the basic salary of officers from the first to the tenth grade and a higher percentage adjustment of salaries for employees from the 11th to the 20th grade. According to those concerned, lower and middle grade officers and employees can get comparatively more benefits.

In addition, there has been a proposal to change the long-standing equal rate annual increment system. According to the draft, there is a plan to determine different increment rates for different grades. Through this, an attempt is being made to bring balance between rank and salary structure.

Some changes have also been recommended in the allowance structure. In addition to setting new limits for medical allowance and education allowance, there is a proposal to reconsider other benefits.

Government sources say that if the new pay scale comes into effect, the interim special allowance currently given may be automatically canceled. Because the basic salary will increase in the new structure, there will be no need for that special allowance.

Although the government had earlier set the target of implementing the ninth pay scale from July this year, the final approval and gazette publication have been delayed due to the time it takes to complete the recommendations of the Pay Commission, financial capacity, and administrative processes.

The further progress of the implementation of the ninth national pay scale will depend on the decision of today's meeting. There is great interest in this meeting among government officials and employees as well as among the concerned quarters.