Ninth national pay scale approved by cabinet

The cabinet has approve the ninth National Pay Scale for government employees.

The National Pay Scale 2026 approved with raising the basic salary of government employees, introducing higher slab-based net pensions and new allowances including a disability allowance for children with special needs.

The pay scale was approved on Monday (31 August) afternoon at a cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat and chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Under the proposed pay scale, the highest basic salary has been fixed at Tk 1.56 lakh for Grade 1 employees, while the lowest basic salary has been set at Tk 20,000 for Grade 20 employees.

Sources at the Finance Ministry said the new pay scale will be implemented in three phases, as decided during high-level discussions.

Earlier, the Finance Ministry had said that 30 percent of the basic salary under the new pay scale would be implemented from 1 July.

Another 35 percent of the revised salary will be implemented from the beginning of the next year, while the remaining amount will be implemented later in the following year, according to ministry sources.

The recommendations of the different wage-related committees will also be considered later in that fiscal year, the sources said.

The interim government formed the 23-member Ninth Pay Scale Commission on 27 July, a decade after the formation of the Eighth Pay Scale Commission.

The commission, headed by former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan, submitted its proposed pay scale report to then Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus on 21 January this year.

Later, on 21 April, a 10-member committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani was formed to review the recommendations of the commission.