Pay and Pension Package 2009-10: 20% increase in salaries of govt employees likely

[LahoreEstate]

* Two-tier increase in pensions part of package in budget

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to announce a 20 percent increase in the salaries of government employees in the 2009-10 fiscal year, and two separate proposals are being firmed up for final decision, sources told Daily Times on Monday.

An attractive pay and pension package is being finalised for the 2009-10 annual budget to relieve the salaried class in the public sector from the unprecedented devaluation of the rupee and inflation.

Increase in the pensions of retired government employees is also part of the package. According to the proposal, employees that have retired before June 30, 1997, would get a 25 percent increase in their pensions, while employees that have retired on or after July 1, 1997, would be given an increase of 20 percent, official sources said.

According to the first proposal, a 15 percent ad-hoc relief allowance announced in the 2005-06 budget and a 15 percent dearness allowance in the pay scales of government employees announced in the 2006-07 budget would be merged, providing employees a 15 percent raise in their salaries in the 2009-10 budget, the sources said.

In a second proposal, salaries of the government employees would be increased by 20 percent in the form of an allowance in the 2009-10 budget.

“The impact of both the proposals relating to the increase in the salaries of government employees is estimated at 20 percent,” an official added.

Despite the fact that the government faces severe economic difficulties, it is providing relief to the salaried class on a top priority basis, the sources said. The two-tier pension increase package would help retired employees immensely, they added.

“The pension increase package will help those employees who had retired earlier and are getting smaller pensions,” the officials said.

The government has also constituted a Pay and Pension Commission to draft the reforms. The commission will, however, not make proposals to the government for the forthcoming budget. Reforms in the 2009-10 budget shall be made by a government decision and not on the recommendations of the commission.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg1_10