If the government finally agrees to notify the increase in salaries, it will have to adjust the impact in the budget. PHOTO: FILE
The finance secretary has cleared a summary advocating a 20 per cent salary raise for government employees who were passed up earlier this year when a similar raise was announced.
On Tuesday, the finance secretary moved a summary asking for employees of the attached departments were left out when former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf increased salaries of those employed in federal ministries and divisions just 10 days before the completion of his government’s term.
Those who did not get a pay raise had challenged the government’s decision in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). On June 18, the court asked the finance ministry to ensure equal treatment to all government employees.
Subsequently, a single-member bench of the IHC warned the finance ministry to issue a notification for the increase in salary of employees working in attached departments of ministries.
With the possibility that the IHC may hold the finance secretary in contempt due to inaction on the court’s earlier order, many see the latest move as a tactic meant to buy time for the finance ministry.
According to sources, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood has cleared the summary for the 20 per cent raise in salary for the approval of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
When asked to comment, finance ministry spokesman Rana Assad Amin refused to say whether a summary had been initiated to comply with court orders but said that the finance secretary would explain his position in court today (Wednesday).
So far, the government has resisted court orders by pleading that compliance of orders will put a financial burden in the range of Rs40 billion to Rs50 billion on the national exchequer.
If the government finally agrees to notify the increase in salaries, it will have to adjust the impact in the budget, particularly at a time when the International Monetary Fund is seeking reduction in the public wage bill as part of its belt-tightening efforts.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2013.
COMMENTS (4)
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The decent way out of this situation for Finance Ministry is to announce that Unified Pay Scales will be offered in next budget and withdraw the raise given earlier by Raja Pervez Asharaf to Secretariat employees. Situation will even be more pathetic for national exchequer because Provincial employees will demand for the same in future and as per the rules explained by court they must not be discriminated at all.
Now it is upto Finance Minister to agree or not with the summary. In the prevailing circumstances it seems difficult to allow the said allowance for the employees of attached departments.