Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Sunday said the government is working on a new mechanism to adjust the salaries of civil servants on an annual basis based on the rate of inflation.“It is a suggestion, not decision, if the rate of inflation is four percent, it means no increase, only when inflation exceeds five percent, pay hike will be considered,” he told the journalists after a meeting with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at the Finance Ministry here.According to the new pay scale, those who are in Grades 20 to 6 will get increment at the rate of 5 percent. For Grade 5, the rate will be 4.5 percent while for Grades 3 and 4 it will be 4 percent, and for Grade 2 it will be 3.75 percent of the basic.Muhith said a cell should be formed with active participation of the Public Administration Ministry and it will submit a report within three months detailing how the annual pay hike mechanism will work. “The mechanism will be effective before the next national elections,” he said.In 2015, the government announced a new pay scale comprising 20 grades. The salary of the highest grade (Grade-1) is Taka 78,000 (fixed) and the initial basic of the lowest grade (Twentieth) is Taka 8,250.Source: BSS