Federal govt employees eye increase in allowances

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has initiated a review process to offer new allowances to its employees during this financial year, in addition to a salary increase of up to 15 per cent.

In this regard, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed an eight-member special committee, led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, to “review existing or propose new allowances”.

“The committee shall review proposals from the finance division and recommend revision/grant to the cabinet at the time of approval of the annual budget,” a notification said.

The committee includes secretaries from finance, cabinet, establishment division, defence, and interior, along with the minister for economic affairs and the state minister for finance and revenue.

The decision follows the 25 per cent increase in salary for civil and military employees in June and a more than 100% increase in judicial compensation last month.

Prior to the aforementioned rise in salary and judicial compensation, the state-run think tank, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (Pide), revealed that the federal government spent over Rs8 trillion on paying its 1.92 million employees and providing pensions along with a wide range of perks and allowances.