Decision to increase salaries for civil servants with 20 years of service reversed within three hours

The National Pay Commission has suspended a decision to increase the salaries of civil servants with over 20 years of service, less than three hours after the pay hike was initially announced.

This decision has sparked widespread concern among a significant number of civil service employees.

Speaking on RaajjeTV's "Fashaairu" program regarding this matter, Ibrahim Rasheed, Counsel General of the Civil Service Commission, stated that since the implementation of the National Pay Policy Act, the National Pay Commission holds the sole authority to make all decisions concerning state salaries.

The Counsel General further stated that the Civil Service Commission's primary role regarding salary matters is to implement the decisions made by the Pay Commission. He noted that this same procedure was followed regarding the pay increments for civil servants with over 20 years of service, adding that it was the Pay Commission that instructed the Civil Service Commission to suspend the implementation of that decision.

Regarding the background of this issue, salary increments had already been approved in accordance with a prior decision by the Pay Commission, with some employees having already received official notification letters to that effect. However, shortly after the decision was made, the Pay Commission issued a circular instructing that the implementation of the pay hike be suspended.

The Pay Commission has not yet disclosed a specific reason for this directive.

RaajjeTV's efforts to contact the National Pay Commission for further details and to clarify the reasons behind this sudden reversal have been unsuccessful. Long-serving employees, who had been anticipating the promised salary increments, have been left in a state of disillusionment following this decision.