The rumours about a substantial pay raise for civil servants have been making the rounds for quite some time. It won’t be long before this rumour is put to rest. This is because the 5th Pay Commission to review and propose the remuneration system in line with the ongoing reforms has been instituted.
The Pay Commission was formed following the immediate order from the Prime Minister issued on Wednesday. The Pay Commission will have five members chaired by Dasho Ugen Chewang who formerly served as a chairman of DHI.
Kesang Deki, the former finance secretary, who currently serves as the cabinet secretary is another member of the team.
There are two international team members, Yeo Whee Jim, an international expert and Raymond Wan, the Chief Finance Transformation Officer currently with the finance ministry and DHI. Leki Wangmo, the finance specialist with His Majesty’s Secretariat is the fifth member.
The department of Macro-Fiscal and Development Finance, Department of Planning, Budget and Performance and Legal division of the finance ministry will support the commission.
The commission will ensure that the financial implications of the proposed remuneration system on the current fiscal state of the nation are considered. Moreover, they will also closely monitor all the financial incentives and allowances that exist in the current remuneration system.
The commission will be in place for a period of a month from the date of the appointment. The pay commission report will first go to the cabinet and will then be discussed in the upcoming parliament session.
Samten Dolkar
