The 9th National Pay Commission on Wednesday submitted its report to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, three weeks ahead of the scheduled deadline, paving the way for a pay hike for government employees.

The 23-member commission, led by its chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan, handed over the report in the afternoon at the State Guest House Jamuna.

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder, along with all full-time and part-time members of the commission, were present on the occasion.

The government formed the 9th National Pay Commission on July 27, 2025, assigning it a six-month deadline to submit recommendations. This was the first pay commission formed after 12 years, following the 8th Pay Commission in 2013. The final date for submitting the report was February 14, 2026. Notably, the commission completed its work using only 18 percent of the allocated budget.

Receiving the report, the Chief Adviser expressed satisfaction and thanked the commission members for their efforts. “This is a massive task. People have been waiting for it for a long time. From the outline, it is clear that the work has been done very creatively,” he said.

While presenting the report, Commission Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan said that significant changes had taken place in both global and national economic indicators over the past decade, particularly a sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities. Due to the absence of a time-befitting pay structure, maintaining living expenses has become increasingly difficult for government employees, he noted. Against this backdrop, the commission reviewed existing pay, allowances and benefits and prepared recommendations in line with its clearly defined terms of reference.

To ensure realistic and timely recommendations, the commission held 184 meetings—both online and offline—with various stakeholders and received opinions and proposals from 2,552 individuals. Extensive consultations were also conducted with representatives of different associations and organisations.

Another major responsibility of the commission was to assess the financial requirements and feasibility of implementing the proposed pay structure.

Speaking at the report submission event, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said the next challenge would be implementation. “A committee will be formed to work out the implementation process,” he added.

The commission has recommended a 20-grade pay scale for government employees. Under the proposal, the minimum basic salary would be increased from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000, while the maximum salary would be raised from Tk 78,000 to Tk 160,000.

According to the commission chairman, implementing the proposals would require an additional Tk 106,000 crore. Currently, the government spends Tk 131,000 crore for around 14 lakh government employees and 9 lakh pensioners.

The report also includes several new proposals, such as introducing health insurance for government employees, reforming the pension system, restructuring the Government Employees Welfare Board, forming a service commission, rationalising pay grades and scales, setting up a committee to review allowances in government offices, and strengthening human resource development in the health and education sectors.

In addition, the commission has recommended a monthly allowance of Tk 2,000 for government employees with disabled children, with the benefit limited to a maximum of two children.

The report further suggests retaining the existing provisions for tiffin allowance while increasing the amount. For employees in grades 11 to 20, the monthly tiffin allowance is proposed to be raised from Tk 200 to Tk 1,000.