Business Desk 
Jun 12, 2024
The federal government on Wednesday increased the salaries of its employees by up to 25% in its first federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
The new decision will be applicable from July 1 following the approval from the National Assembly and the Senate.
A 25% hike has been approved by the federal cabinet in the salaries of government employees from grade-1 to grade-16. Similarly, a 20% increase in the salaries of grade-17 to grade-22 employees has been approved.
In addition to this, the minimum wage of a labourer of the federal government has been increased to Rs37,000 from Rs32,000 last year.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government would adopt a three-pronged strategy to reform the pension scheme in line with international best practices.
The minister said that the government had to pay unfunded pension liability, which was increasing every year. He said after reforms in the pension scheme, the pension liability would be reduced considerably in next three decades.
The minister said that for fresh employees, a contributory pension scheme would be introduced for which the government would deposit its share every month.
Moreover, a pension fund would be created to manage the liability, he added.
He also proposed a 20-25% increase in the salaries on ad-hoc basis and 15% enhancement in the pensions of the federal government employees, realising their financial hardships due to the increased inflation.
