Finance minister constitutes committee; asks for a report within a week. PHOTO: FILE
It took less than 24 hours for the government to reverse its landmark decision of not increasing the salaries of government servants — for the first time in nearly three decades.
The budgetary move was denounced with such fervor that the government was forced to reconsider its decision and constitute a committee to review the possibility of increasing civil servants salaries, revealed sources in finance ministry.
The committee will be headed by Zafar Hasan Raza, additional secretary of regulations wing of the finance ministry. An official from the Pay and Pension Cell of the Establishment Division and some other senior officials will be members of the committee. The committee has been assigned to prepare a report within a week after reviewing various options.
A finance ministry official confirmed that a decision to constitute the committee was taken on Thursday evening by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The federal government’s decision has affected up to 650,000 federal employees and dimmed hopes for an increment in salaries to more than two million provincial government employees.
The resentment also increased because the government decided to increase pensions by 10%, which the civil servants took as a move aimed at appeasing retired army officials more than the retired civilian employees. For the next fiscal year Rs171.3 billion have been allocated for pension bill and Rs132.8 billion or 77.5% of it will go on paying pensions of the ex-military men.
While addressing post budget press conference, the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar maintained that the government would increase employees’ salaries in the next Budget of 2014-15. He said only three months back the salaries of the federal government employees had been increased by 20%, thus there was no justification for another raise.
When he was reminded that the 20% increase was given to only employees of the Pak Secretariat –the seat of federal bureaucracy, he did not respond. The March increase had not been extended to the employees of the attached departments and the corporations.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.
COMMENTS (19)
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@Voice: Because the increases only apply to those federal departments which draw their salaries from national treasury. Autonomous bodies and departments which don't draw their salaries from national treasury are not entitled to budgetary announcements. The maximum inflation was 13% YoY. even if 50% was split over previous three years its still far above compounded inflation impact.
@Xnain....You are seems less informed.....PPP government announced 20% for federal secretariat bureaucrats..........It never applies for government servants work in other provinces, or even lower scale employees in Islamabad too....The 50% you are referring was split over three years prior to 2011......Just Compare inflation level in Pakistan...while a normal teacher at government school or lower level staff earns a lowest.
@Kaleem: 1-Rather than allowing them free lunch at every budget, why don't these employees ask government for implementing performance based increase. I bet all of them will reject it because 90% of these people only read newspapers,play solitaire and enjoy tea from 9 to 5
2-60 Billion is the federal budget for health. The provinces also allocate amounts for health in their provincial budgets. Look out for provincial budget to see which province allocates how much to health sector. Punjab government's total budget was around 81 Billion PKR (10% of total budget) last year. In KPK around 230 Million PKR were allocated for health sector. Dont know about the allocation of Sindh and Baluchistan.
The government employees have already availed 50% in 2010 20% in 2011 and then again 20% in 2012. This doesn't include 20% allowance given by the PPP government when it was departing and the usual annual increase. Now they are again demanding 50%. I suggest government should introduce performance based increases so that these people may know that how much do they deserve in actual.
Bullet train please?
Mr. PM , this time the Nation has no tolerance , bring back the money from looters if you are not one of them
Worthy FM, do not befool the Government servants and pensioners by setting up a comittee. Pay and Pension Comission set up 5 years ago have already and repeatedly given its recommendations to streamline the pay and pension structure. please implment the recommendations of the commission if u r really sincer to this badly inflation affected segment of the society as was the slogan of PML N.
Really? Only yesterday Dar Vader was proclaiming that the government servants got a 20% raise in the dying days of PPP government only a few weeks ago and that most government employees work for the provinces so it was not a federal issue!
My advice to Pakistani people: get your money out of foreign exchange accounts before they are frozen again by the nutters.
NS please change your finance minister, he is creating hatred against PMLN....
@village chamyati: Then you must have some other source of income....!!
good article needs research though
If even it was public pressure, they have taken positive decision within 24 hours and should be applauded for this. I hope they will amend a few other aggressive measures announced in budget.
Please eradicate laptops scheme and put more money in health sector which got just 61 billion for 180 million nation, on average it makes 350 rupees per person for next year in health expense.
Will they give a second thought for persons with salary , as did not carry nonsense value like clerks
U-turns already? Bad move. Now everyone will think putting pressure on govt will get them what they want. The govt cant make everyone happy all the time. Govt needs to take hard and correct decisions...and not decisions that get good press.
"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new". Said Socrates. You and your PML N wants to turn around the economy by bottling old wine in new bottle.
Would they ever sit in the opposition??
NO needs to increase the salary as already in last 5 years it increase more than 150 %. It is time to save money and put in other development budget including to overcome the circular debit. I am also employees know the impact of increase salary. but I am willing not to take 10 % increase during current fiscal year and think about Pakistan prosperity. Dont increase it would have negative impact.
villagechamyati@gmail.com
Make a humble pie of the cyclostyle obsolete duplicated budget and eat it Mr Finance Wizard. Jugglery of words will not bring any of your promised changes. A real bad start for Mr Nawaz Sharif.
I don't think anyone is surprised by this. There will be many more course changes in the near future. All that talk of reducing the fiscal deficit by 2.5% of GDP is just nonsense. The budget is not worth the paper it is written on.