Salary increase for all civil servants slated for next year

The proposed budget for next year includes allocations for to complete the pay harmonization of remaining civil servants and judiciary staff.

MVR 500 million has been allocated from a proposed budget of MVR 56.6 billion for pay harmonization.

The pay harmonization efforts were initiated during the last MDP administration. The salaries of health sector and education sector workers in addition to national security services’ personnel have already been increased under this initiative.

While presenting the budget at Thursday’s parliamentary sitting, Finance Minister Moosa Zameer said MVR 500 million have been allocated in the budget for pay harmonization of all civil servants and judiciary staff.

“The salaries of all remaining staff will be reviewed in 2026,” he added.

The pay harmonization initiative was launched to harmonize the salaries of staff across all sectors and ensure they are provided with a remuneration that allows them to lead a dignified life.

Notably, statistics by Finance Ministry show an MVR 1.3 billion increase in expenditure on salary and allowances so far this year, compared to the same period last year which has been attributed to pay harmonization.

Thus, a significant increase in expenses incurred for salary and allowances is expected with the impending increase of salaries under pay harmonization.

The projected expenditure in the proposed budget for next year is MVR 49.2 billion. Meanwhile, the projected revenue and grants stand at MVR 39.8 billion, with the government expecting to collect USD 120 million in grants.

The budget deficit is MVR 9.4 billion, making it the budget with the relatively smallest deficit in recent history. It is equivalent to 7.9 percent of the GDP.

The Finance Ministry said that the 2025 budget includes MVR 11.5 billion in fiscal reforms. The reforms are expected to save the state MVR 6.6 billion in spending, while new initiatives to boost revenue is expected to raise an additional MVR 4.9 billion.