The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The much-awaited national pay scales for public servants would be placed before the cabinet meeting today for final approval, the Finance Minister disclosed yesterday.

During his briefing to reporters at IRD, AMA Muhith said he is optimistic about the public announcement of the national pay scale for which the public servants have been waiting for a long time.

"But it (announcement) would be late by one or two days more if some unresolved minor issues erupted," he said.

Talking about the present structure of the national pay scale, which leaves a yawning gap between the bottom and the top rungs, the Finance Minister said, "The structure is not well enough to me."

Indicating the gap between the lowest basic pay amounting to Tk 4,100 and the highest pay of Tk 40,000, he said, "This comparison is unreal to me."

The custodian of the exchequer also viewed

that the uniform house rent and conveyance allowance rates for the whole of the country are not valid.

Giving example, he said the house rent in Sylhet is lower compared to that in Dhaka, but the prices of other essentials are higher over there than in Dhaka. On the other hand, the transportation costs in Dhaka city and Faridpur district town would not be same.

"But we are giving the same amount of money in the pay scale," the Finance Minister about the underlying disparity.

He came to the conclusion that with the present national pay scale it would not be possible to ensure equity of the people who are living in Dhaka and other places of the country.

Apparently taking an egalitarian stand, the Finance Minister of the Awami League-led centre-left coalition government said he personally thinks that equity should be ensured in the national pay scale.