Govt to increase salaries of govt employees by 15 percent in Budget 2022-23: Information minister

The government will increase the salaries of its employees for the fiscal year of 2022-23, said Information Minister Maryum Aurungzaib on Friday in a press talk.

“We should understand that government employees also have to manage their households,” said the minister of information.

The statement comes at a time when the government announced its austerity measures on Tuesday, agreeing to reduce fuel consumption by 40 percent for its officials, and cabinet members, the ban on buying cars, visits abroad and medical treatment of public servants abroad, and the purchase of furniture and equipment for government offices.

The federal government also restored the weekly Saturday holiday to save energy and improve load release management.

These measures raised the question of whether the salaries of government employees would be frozen as well.

However, the minister stated that as inflation goes up, employees also need an increase.

Pakistan is currently experiencing an economic crisis, with foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) falling below $10 billion.

Talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue, but Pakistan’s $6 billion bailout package has not yet been relaunched.