KATHMANDU, August 8: Earlier, while announcing the budget for the current fiscal year 2022/23, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma had announced that the salary of all government employees had been increased by 15 percent. However, at the time of implementation, the salary of the employees from section officers to secretaries has been increased by 24.5 percent.

The salary increase decision is implemented only after the salary scale of all the employees, according to the government’s announcement, is published in Nepal Gazette.  However, according to the salary scale prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the salary of the higher level employees has been abnormally increased than announced in the budget.

An officer's salary scale was Rs 37,990 till June. According to the current budget, as the salary is increased by 15 percent (Rs 5,698), it should have been Rs 43,688. However, in the salary scale, the salary scale of an officer level government employee is Rs 47,208. This is an increase of 24.26 percent. Similarly, if the salary of an under secretary was increased by 15 percent, it would have been Rs 48,737. However, it has been increased by 23.3 percent to Rs 52, 279.

According to the salary scale, the salary of a joint secretary has now reached Rs 61,050. This is 8.6 percent more than the provision made in the budget. If it was increased by 15 percent, the salary scale of a joint secretary would be Rs 56,778 rupees. Likewise, a secretary, who was getting Rs 62,140 rupees till mid-June and mid-July, will receive Rs 74,221 from mid-July and mid-August. If it was increased only according to the budget, the secretary would have received a salary of Rs 72,082.

Revenue Secretary Krishna Hari Pushkar has signed the decision to hike the salaries of government employees. Sources said that the Council of Ministers has approved the proposal of the Ministry. This decision of the government will add a burden worth billions of rupees on the state treasury. On the other hand, in the midst of the current budget being passed by parliament, it has been decided to increase the salary haphazardly, by bypassing parliament.

It seems that the government has increased the salaries of higher level employees under the pretense of adjusting the salary scale with the employees of the provinces. After the country adopted a federal structure, the employees were sent to the provinces with some extra perks and benefits. Thus, although the employees in the province and federal were in the same position, their pay scale and perks and benefits they received were different. Now it has been decided to give the same salary to the higher level employees of the federal government.

Meanwhile, the salaries of a Nayab Subba (non-gazetted first class) and a Kharidar (non-gazetted second class) employees working in the federal government have not been increased as in the province.  A backlash has started on social media against this decision made by the government. There has been a protest on social media stating that the employees who used to choose the federal government for better perks seem to be greedy for the perks provided to the employees of the provinces.

 
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