The twenty-fourth batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) began receiving selection grade financial benefits from July 2 despite the new pay scale scheduled to come into effect on July1 that abolished selection grades, official sources said.
The Public Administration Division issued a circular yesterday announcing selection grade benefits for around 350 BCS officials of the 24th batch, who will receive the first tranche of the payouts.
A Cabinet Division official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “It might be alright for civil servants to receive selection grade increments at this time. But if the new pay scale is applied retroactively from July 1, as was proposed earlier, then it may not be appropriate for them to receive these selection grade payments.”
The official said the government had delayed the payment of civil servants ‘ salary cheques because a suitable alternative to the existing time scale and selection grade provisions had not been agreed upon.
The official added that many powerful administrative officers were members of the 24th BCS batch, hinting that they may have had some influence on the decision to issue the circular.
According to Finance Division data, nearly two-thirds of the country’s 2.1 million public servants will lose out financially if time scales and selection grades are scrapped in accordance with the National Pay and Service Commission recommendations.
The National Pay and Services Commission (NPSC) and a secretary-level review committee earlier proposed to remove time scale and selection grade provisions from the new pay scale.
The two government bodies recommended a cumulative increment policy for civil servants to become effective from July 1, instead of the existing time scale and selection grade.
Under the time scale and selection grade systems, public servants receive salary increments without being promoted.
Some 4,500 officials of the 24th batch of the BCS will receive selection grade benefits in phases, according to Ministry of Public Administration sources.
Under the existing selection grade provisions, senior assistant secretaries will receive Tk22,500 instead of their current pay of Tk18,500 per month.
Finance Division sources said Finance Minister AMA Muhith has not submitted the new pay hike proposal to cabinet because of unresolved complications arising from claims made by university teachers and those lower on the pay scale.
Last week the finance minister said the new pay structure for government staff would be placed in the cabinet meeting this month.
