This author argued in an article published here in August 2020 that the salaries of career public officials in Pakistan are intentionally kept inadequately low so as to compel them to indulge in corruption and bribery. In a follow-up article published here in August 2022, this author proposed a comprehensive financial and administrative framework to maintain an honest, efficient and effective civil service, including the proposal that salary should be lump sum (so as to be sufficient for all domestic expenditures on food, clothing, entertainment, children's education, residential rent and utilities, office commute, health insurance and car and housing finance needs) and pegged to a reliable base, such as gold, the Dollar or minimum wage.
Now, after further research and consideration, this author has concluded that legal minimum wage is the only theoretically correct and practically appropriate base to index lump sum salaries of different grades of public officials. The resulting formula for pay fixation is as follows:
Minimum Lump sum salary of a public official = Their pay grade × Legal minimum wage
That is, with the existing federal minimum wage of Rs. 37,000, the minimum lump sum salaries of government employees from Grade 1 to Grade 22 should be as follows (one may read into it an annual increment of 10% of the minimum wage, i.e., Rs. 3,700, under the existing system of promotions):
| Pay Grade | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Basic Salary | 37,000 | 74,000 | 111,000 | 148,000 | 185,000 | 222,000 | 259,000 | 296,000 |
| Pay Grade | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Basic Salary | 333,000 | 370,000 | 407,000 | 444,000 | 481,000 | 518,000 | 555,000 | 592,000 |
| Pay Grade | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ||
| Basic Salary | 629,000 | 666,000 | 703,000 | 740,000 | 777,000 | 814,000 |
One may readily observe, as common sense dictates, that these “corruption-free salaries” are neither deficient nor excessive for government employees in Pakistan, and that taxpayers would save millions and billions of rupees by paying these slightly higher salaries rather than much, much higher amounts as bribes. Moreover, the theoretical and systematic reasons for choosing minimum wage as the basis of civil service pay are as follows:
- Government Controlled: Dollar and gold prices are determined by the market and are vulnerable to sizable fluctuations. However, minimum wage is determined by the Government itself and is not susceptible to change without thorough consideration and analysis by the Government. Thus, technically and practically, the Government has almost complete control over the amount of the minimum wage.
- Fair and Just: Until this point in human history, there has been no universally recognised standard of fair and just wages except the minimum wage. Extending this principle upwards to higher grades would similarly retain the element of fairness and justice. That is, higher grades would get more pay than minimum wage and in relation to the minimum wage so that they remain grounded and sympathetic to the humble unskilled worker.
- Moral justification for ruthless accountability: It is morally unjustifiable for an institution of accountability to prosecute a corrupt official knowing that he/she is paid very little and has to cut corners to make ends meet. That is why Pakistan - despite having all the traditional laws and institutions to detect and punish corruption - has vey high levels of corruption and very low levels of convictions for corruption. However, a public official who is receiving the “minimum salary” as proposed above would have no reason to expect any leniency for stealing even a single penny from the public exchequer. Thus, once a country adopts the “minimum salary” model across the board, it should easily and quickly become 100% corruption-free. Conversely, no country should expect to become corruption-free until and unless it has adopted the said salary model.
- Automatic: Every time the Government changes the minimum wage, all higher pay grades automatically get revised as well. So, neither the Government has to make separate calculations nor do the employees have to go on strikes and protests to determine salaries of higher pay grades. Once this model is adopted and accepted as fair and just, it would keep the workforce peaceful, honest and motivated without any feeling or incident of organisational disharmony.
- Universal applicability in public and private sector organisations: Just as the concept of minimum wage applies universally to both public and private sector, this index for higher pay grades would also apply to both public and private sector hierarchical organisations. Needless to say, solo performers and professional partnerships would not be covered by this organisational principle, though they may still calculate their fees in terms of minimum wages to determine their relative socio-economic worth.
- Adaptable: This index would only determine the minimum wage at each higher pay grade. The employer (public or private) may still adapt this index to grant further pay raises: for example, for certain pay grades, instead of adding one minimum wage (which is the minimum requirement), he may add more than one or a multiple of minimum wages. For example, a foreman who commands 10 workers may deserve only one additional minimum wage; but a foreman who commands 20 workers may deserve two additional minimum wages. Similarly, while local recruits may be given one minimum wage for each higher pay grade, out-of-city recruits or managerial class may be given two, three or more additional minimum wages at each higher pay grade.
- Informative, fundamental unit of salaries: Thus, minimum wage becomes the fundamental unit of determining salaries: all salary structures can be and should be determined and explained in terms of minimum wages. In other words, a person’s salary would not be given as a certain number of rupees (which tells you nothing about the importance and competence of that person, or indeed how much purchasing power that amount of money has in a given state of the economy), but rather as a multiple of minimum wages, so that one immediately knows how important and competent a person is. For example, if a person is earning 20 minimum wages, that means not only that he is as important and competent as 20 unskilled workers (and may indeed be commanding and supervising the work of 20 people subordinate to him) but also that he can afford to buy 20 times more goods than an ordinary unskilled worker.
- Eliminates Greed and Discontent: When there is no standard formula or reference point for determining salaries of higher grades, an employee is always on the lookout to make some extra money, even if he is already being given a million dollars and even if he is the only one getting such a high salary. This is because, in this situation, he is always insecure as to his exact social and economic status and is working tirelessly and greedily to earn a higher income. Thus, while some people might be working too hard to get a pay raise (which never materialises because of micro and macro-economic realities), some people might be working too little under the belief that their salary is too low and does not deserve any extra effort on their part. Thus, work ethics in any organisation comes to individual and personal motivations and incentives rather than a universally recognised benchmark. This situation not only creates a toxic environment of jealousy, exploitation, harassment and corruption but also, more worryingly, creates an unsustainable and inconsistent work ethic, which results in a high turnover rate of employees in the short term and complete organisational collapse in the long run. However, adopting this minimum wage-indexed salary structure would keep every employee not only content with their current salary (as they would always be humbled by comparison with an unskilled worker) but also help them see exactly how much and what kind of more work they need to do to deserve a higher pay, which higher pay would also be predetermined. Thus, the rungs on the economic ladder of social mobility – which have been an invisible mystery to everyone – would become visible and certain like looking oneself in a mirror. This visibility and certainty would not only keep people content and honest in their economic present but also keep them motivated without becoming greedy for their possible economic future.
- Inflation-proof: Lastly, this index has the further assurance of being adaptable to inflation through adjustment of the minimum wage and thus guarantees its reliability even during times of economic turbulence.
- Self-sufficient and free of cost: This minimum salary structure does not need any extra profits or loans. Rather, it can always be implemented within the existing resources of any given society. This is so because it does not rely on fictional monetary calculations but the substantial relationship between commodities and work. That is, commodities will determine the price of minimum wage, while work will determine the multiples of minimum wage that an individual deserves to be paid. Thus, there will always be enough financial resources corresponding to the value of the available commodities and work to implement this system. It will begin to cost something and reduce the existing profits of an organisation only when the number of multiples is increased beyond the number of pay grades.
- Eternal: This index, once adopted, automatically adjusts itself to economic realities without creating any residual disharmony. Moreover, it is based on a basic understanding of human needs for commodities arising out of the concept of minimum wages, rather than the ephemeral notion and value of currency. Thus, it is very much eternal in its validity and scope. That is, once adopted, there would be no need to change it till the end of time.
- Law of Nature: In light of the foregoing, it is fairly obvious that this minimum wage index salary structure is not an economic invention or strategy but in fact a hidden law of nature that has now been discovered. In terms of its theoretical validity, it is at least as scientifically sound as Newton’s laws of motion or Einstein’s theories of relativity.
Having thus outlined the features and benefits of a minimum wage-indexed salary structure, it is now pertinent to mention that this author submitted a table of pay and pension determined according to this structure to the Governor House, Lahore, on 4 July 2023 (Diary No. 1825) and undertook a further proactive (and confidential) measure in this regard within the civil service in November 2024. Therefore, this author can argue that the recent hikes in the salaries of members of the Punjab Assembly and Parliament since December 2024 are in fact based on this very model (though no government source has to date explained or even been asked to reveal the formula behind this pay raise).
The clearest proof in this regard is the revised salary of the Speaker, Punjab Assembly. His pay grade according to the existing government system comes to 27 (that is, since the highest civil servant has 22nd grade, this would be followed in order by an MPA (23), Minister (24), Chief Minister (25), Deputy Speaker (26) and Speaker (27)), which should yield a monthly lump sum cash salary of Rs. 999,000 (that is, 27 multiplied by the monthly minimum wage of Rs. 37,000). Further, in my last article proposing lump sum salaries, I argued that legitimate job-related expenses such as travelling allowance and daily allowance should be borne separately by the Government and not the public office holder. In this light, the Speaker now has the following fixed monthly income: a salary of Rs. 950,000 and a sumptuary allowance of Rs. 25,000.
As for the federal parliamentarians, monthly salaries for MNAs, Senators and Federal Ministers have been increased to Rs. 519,000
Further, it seems that the legislators in this case have also added to the Speaker’s bill Rs. 25,000 per month as an allowance for living in his personal residence instead of his official residence, because only then does the total add up to Rs. 1,000,000, which is just one thousand rupees above the sum calculated as per the minimum wage-indexed salary structure proposed by this author. The chef’s kiss here is the variable and optional leave allowance of the Speaker fixed at exactly Rs. 37,000 per month, which is key to this entire exercise. That is, even if he does no work at all, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly can still earn as much as an unskilled labourer does per month (NB: this very insightful “minimum wage as leave allowance” provision introduced in December 2024 has been revised in June 2025 to “the same as his salary”).
However, apart from the Speaker, Punjab Assembly, the aforementioned order of precedence has not been followed, but the multiples of minimum wages still appear to have been applied in a sneaky manner. Thus, while the Deputy Speaker should have been given a monthly lump sum cash salary of Rs. 962,000, he has been granted instead Rs. 825,000 only (as sum of his salary, sumptuary allowance and residence allowance), which is just above the pay deserved by a Grade 22 officer, that is, Rs. 814,000 (=22 × 37,000).
Similarly, an MPA should have been given Rs. 851,000 (=23 × 37,000), but instead they have been given Rs. 480,000 (as sum of their salary, sumptuary allowance, house rent and utilities), which corresponds to the pay deserved by a Grade 13 government official, that is, Rs. 481,000 (= 13 × 37,000). Lastly, a provincial minister should have been given Rs. 888,000 per month (= 24 × 37,000) but instead has been given Rs. 1,025,000 (as sum of their salary, sumptuary allowance and residence allowance), which is almost equivalent to a Grade 28 salary, above that of the Speaker, Punjab Assembly.
As for the federal parliamentarians, monthly salaries for MNAs, Senators and Federal Ministers have been increased to Rs. 519,000. The official documents are not yet available online but taken at face value, even without adding the figures for sumptuary and residence allowance, etc., this figure corresponds to the pay deserved by a Grade 14 government official, that is, Rs. 518,000 (=14 × 37,000).
Thus, in summary, the ruling class of Pakistan appears to have given the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly his due monthly lump sum cash salary, given the provincial ministers Rs. 25,000 above that of the Speaker, then given the Deputy Speaker a salary of a Grade 23 officer, an MPA a salary of ten grades less than that of the Deputy Speaker, and the federal legislators a salary of one grade above the provincial legislators. These developments indicate that while the ruling class of Pakistan has acknowledged in principle the minimum wage-indexed salary structure proposed by this author, they are not yet willing to officially acknowledge the same or extend the same principle to all public office holders in the legislature, civil service, military or judiciary.
While this author appreciates and endorses the above pay hikes (in Pakistan, it is better to give decent salaries to the elected leaders out of the public exchequer rather than let them find other means to make their ends meet, like donations as in developed countries or corruption as in underdeveloped countries), it is also worth acknowledging that a few hurdles do indeed exist in the wholesale expansion of this principle. Firstly, there may be a need to reduce the number of existing pay grades from 22 to a lower number.
Secondly, there may be a need to reduce the number of public office holders recruited beyond the needs of an efficient and effective Government. Thirdly, there may be some confusion as to the order of precedence under our existing Constitution for the purposes of payment of salaries, which is indicated by news reports that President Zardari withheld his approval of the pay hikes for federal parliamentarians on this very ground, and is also apparent in Punjab Ministers getting a higher salary than that of the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly.
While politics is about optics and opportunity, the quantum of authority under the Constitution does not depend on optics and has its own internal dynamics and cohesion
On the first count, keeping in view the recent technological developments and the nature of Government operations envisioned under the proposed lump sum cash salary system, it is possible that some of the pay grades of subordinate staff from Grade 1 to Grade 16 may become redundant, or there may be a possibility to merge some of these pay grades. This issue needs thorough consideration in a comprehensive report by a Pay and Pension Commission comprising a mix of old and young bureaucrats.
On the second count, there is definitely a well-known problem in Pakistan that most government recruitments other than the CSS are marred by allegations of interference through political and financial influence, which results in recruitment of not only incompetent employees but also more employees than are needed for the job. In this regard, the Government is already moving in the right direction through its plans for right-sizing the government.
However, the Government needs to take a more transparent approach in this regard by expressly declaring its principles and objectives. A publicly-avowed policy is necessary so that all citizens of Pakistan can calmly endure this undoubtedly painful period of transition from a patronage-based government to an entirely merit-based and ruthlessly honest, efficient and effective bureaucratic machine that can turn Pakistan, in the words of Army Chief General Asim Muneer, from a “soft state” to a “hard state”. At the very least, it would require a central review board to verify the academic and personal records of all federal and provincial government employees to identify and dismiss all those with fake degrees and domiciles. In later years, more incompetent officials may be weeded out by adopting the performance review system proposed by this author in his article mentioned second in the opening paragraph above.
On the third count the order of precedence confusion is often visible in official photographs with regards to the relative status of holders of top constitutional, political and military offices. However, while politics is about optics and opportunity, the quantum of authority under the Constitution does not depend on optics and has its own internal dynamics and cohesion, as explained below:
- Military: Military personnel are recruited, trained and maintained like any other civil service, and there is no financial or constitutional reason to give them a status higher than that of civil servants, especially since they have no independent mandate or authority over or parallel to that of the elected legislators. Accordingly, at best, each of the three armed forces may be treated as an attached department of the Defence Ministry with their respective chiefs entitled to a salary equivalent to a Grade 22 civil servant (= Rs. 814,000). From this point of view, the post of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is actually an anomaly in the usual structure of government, and may, by way of an exception, be granted a salary equal to Grade 25 (that is, being the head of three separate institutions, each led by a Grade 22 officer), that is, equivalent to the salary of a provincial Chief Minister.
- Legislators: Order of precedence of provincial legislators has been discussed above from Grade 23 to 27. This order arises out of our parliamentary form of Government where the Assembly is the parent institution headed by the Speaker and the Government of the Chief Minister and the Ministers is a progeny of and accountable to the parent institution. The same order should be followed at the federal level with one pay grade added to account for the higher level of Government. Accordingly, an MNA/Senator, Federal Minister, Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker/Chairman and Speaker/Chairman would have Grades 24 to 28, in order. Thus, Chief Ministers at Grade 25 should be paid Rs. 925,000, while the Prime Minister of Pakistan at Grade 26 deserves a minimum monthly cash salary of Rs. 962,000. (NB: Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has gotten a salary of Rs. 1,300,000, which is Rs. 5,000 more than the salary of an officer of Grade 35. This means that the State has determined the Speaker’s order of precedence between the President (Grade 36) and the Governor (Grade 34), as discussed below).
- Judiciary: Keeping in view a High Court judge’s constitutional jurisdiction to strike down any provincial or federal legislation, a High Court judge would be ranked above the Speaker of a Provincial Assembly at Grade 28, followed by the Chief Justice of a High Court at Grade 29, a Supreme Court judge at Grade 30 and the Chief Justice of Pakistan at Grade 31 (= Rs. 1,147,000).
- Elections and Audit: The Chief Election Commissioner and the Auditor General of Pakistan – holding constitutional offices with independent jurisdictions parallel (mostly non-overlapping) to those of the Supreme Court of Pakistan – would hold the same rank as the Chief Justice of Pakistan at Grade 31. Other members of the federal Election Commission would accordingly hold one rank below, at Grade 30, while provincial Chief Election Commissioners would hold one rank further below, at Grade 29, which is also equivalent to the Chief Justice of the High Court.
President and Governors: The President is not just one rank above the rest: under our Constitution, he is the ceremonial boss and coordinator of five different constitutional institutions: parliament, government, judiciary, Election Commission and Auditor-General. Accordingly, he would be paid five grades above the last grade below (viz. 31), which takes him to Grade 36 (= Rs. 1,332,000). Similarly, provincial Governors would be paid five grades above the highest provincial grade (HC Chief Justice, 29), which takes him to Grade 34 (= Rs. 1,258,000). - Thus, the final Order of Precedence under our Constitution for the purposes of payment of salaries is as follows: (1) President, (2) Governor, (3) Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chief Election Commissioner/Auditor-General, (4) Supreme Court judge/federal Election Commissioner, (5) High Court Chief Justice, (6) High Court Judge/NA Speaker/Senate Chairman, (7) NA Deputy Speaker/Senate Deputy Chairman/Speaker Provincial Assembly, (8) Prime Minister/Provincial Deputy Speaker, (9) Federal Minister/Provincial Chief Minister/Chairman JCSC, (10) MNA/Senator/Provincial Minister, (11) MPA, (12) Additional Auditor-General/Federal Secretary/Chief Secretary/Chief of Army Staff/Chief of Naval Staff/Chief of Air Staff. It may be reiterated here that this Order of Precedence is not for ceremonial purposes where the intention is to present an office holder to the public, where one may very well like to present elected leaders first to please the public and delay the entry of unelected constitutional, military and civil officials to maintain their low-profile and importance in the eyes of the general public.
These are ideas whose time has come. Indeed, the ruling class of Pakistan has already used some of these ideas to their own exclusive financial and rhetorical advantage. Now they may please let their benefits trickle down to ordinary government officials and the masses in general.