Strict ultimatum on pay scale implementation

Bangladesh Government Employees’ Unity Council has issued a strict ultimatum demanding the immediate implementation of the 9th pay scale, following recent comments by the Finance Adviser. The organisation has given an ultimatum to determine the salary structure at a 1:4 ratio and publish the pay scale gazette by December 15.

From a rally organised at the National Press Club on Friday, November 14, the leaders of the organisation presented their main demands.

The demands are:

The minimum salary in 12 grades must be set at 35,000 taka and the maximum at 1,40,000 taka (at a 1:4 ratio).

The ninth pay scale must be published in gazette form by December 15, 2025, and must be made effective from January 1, 2026.

Employee leaders also demanded removal of long-standing deprivation related to the pay scale. Speakers said the three time scales and selection grade excluded from the 2015 pay scale must be reinstated. Salary seniority must be restored. Pension must be introduced in all autonomous institutions alongside gratuity.

The current gratuity rate must be increased from 90 percent to 100 percent. In pension gratuity, the equivalent of 1 taka must be fixed at 500 taka.

Coordinator of the Unity Council Md Mahmudul Hasan warned that if the deadline for submitting the pay commission recommendations and publishing the gazette is not met, the movement will become even stricter. If no visible step is taken by November 30, then on December 5, a mass rally and continuous sit-in programme will be announced through a press conference.