BB fixes minimum salary for bankers

— Entry level bankers to get at least Tk 28,000 and
Tk 39,000 after completion of probation period
— Cleaner, Security Guard, Office Assistant to get
Tk 24,000 as starting salary

Ibrahim Khalil: For the first time in history, Bangladesh Bank yesterday fixed minimum salary of entry level officials of banks in order to encourage talented young to take banking as a career and play role for the economic advancement of the country.
The central bank said entry level salary of assistant officer, trainee assistant officer, trainee assistant cash officer or equivalent officials would be minimum Tk 28,000 during probation period and their total salary including basic be at least Tk 39,000 monthly after the end of probation period.
After implementing the minimum salary, banks will have to increase salary of other officials who have been working at the same positions, proportionately, said the Bangladesh Bank in a circular to banks.
The circular is as follows:In order to keep the loyalty, ethics, morale and work speed of the officers and employees of the bank, it is necessary to pay them proper salaries and allowances. However, it has recently been noticed that the salaries and allowances of the Entry Level Officers of some banking companies are being determined arbitrarily without proper determination; which is very low compared to the existing salaries and allowances of other high level officials of the same bank. Such an unusual gap between the salaries and allowances of high and low level officers and employees is by no means acceptable. It has also been noticed that in some banks the officers and employees engaged in the same position are receiving different salaries and allowances.
Moreover, due to the inability to achieve the set target or the difference in salaries and allowances in different banks on the pretext of inefficiency, the bank officials and employees do not develop the attitude of focusing on the work of the bank permanently. The result is a variety of complexities, including inefficiency, unequal competition and moral decay, which are barriers to proper human resource management and good governance and detrimental to banking companies; which is by no means desirable.

In this regard, young and educated bank officers and employees can play an important role in the economy of the country by providing more and more trained and efficient banking services to the concerned banks as their organization from now on, make sure that the following guidelines are followed properly:
3.1. Assistant Officer/
Trainee Assistant Officer/Trainee Assistant Cash Officer or equivalent officer, whatever the name may be, the minimum salary and allowance for such officers at the entry level of the bank during probation period will be Tk 28,000;

3.2. At the end of the training period, the minimum total salary allowance will be Tk 39,000. After the implementation of the newly fixed salaries and allowances, the salaries and allowances of the officers working in the same position will have to be increased proportionately;

3.3. The difference between the salaries and allowances of the officers working in the immediate lower posts of the CEO and the salaries and allowances of the officers and employees working in the lowest posts in the bank should be determined at a logical level. Similarly, salaries and allowances should be fixed proportionally for officers at all levels;

3.4. In no case shall the salary-allowance of any officer/employee be less than the present salary-allowance. In case of such a situation, the salary/allowance should be fixed by giving the required number of increments to the concerned officer/employee. In addition, the officers/employees will be entitled to other allowances and benefits on a regular basis as per the Bank’s Service Rules;

3.5. The conditions for achieving the target of collecting deposits for job stabilization or annual salary increase of the officers appointed by the bank-company cannot be imposed;

3.6. Bank-company executives cannot be deprived of the promotions they deserve simply on the pretext of not being able to achieve the set goals or incompetence. Officers and employees may not be dismissed on the same grounds, that is, officers and employees may not be dismissed or forced to resign unless there is a specific and proven complaint;

3.7. Messenger/Cleaner/Security Guard/Office Assistant (Support Staff) or similar staff; Minimum starting salary-allowance will be Tk 24,000;

3.8. If the work of the employees mentioned in the above order is done on contract basis or on daily basis or through outsourced or any other process, then the salaries and allowances of such employees should be fixed in line with the salaries and allowances of the employees mentioned in the 3.7 order;

3.9. The above guidelines will not apply to the agents of the bank who are employed by the agents or agents of the bank employed in various outlets engaged in providing banking services in banking or mobile banking or any other process.

3.10. The above guidelines will not be applicable to such banks as the pay structure of the state-owned banks is determined to be covered/followed by the national pay scale issued by the government.In order to ensure compliance with the stated guidelines, the Managing Directors shall present necessary amendments in the policy of the bank in accordance with these guidelines by presenting them at the next meeting of the board of directors of their respective banks.

In the light of the above guidelines, the newly fixed salaries and allowances will be effective from March 1, 2022. The instructions given in this circular will remain in force till further instructions. In order to ensure discipline, good governance and proper management in the banking sector, this directive was issued with the powers conferred by sub-section (d) of section 45 of the Banking Companies Act, 1991.