The High Court (HC) expects that the Bangladesh Bank will not be strict in implementing its circular issued for fixing the minimum salary for the entry-level officials and staff of private banks, till the settlement of a case filed in this connection.
The court has also verbally directed the lawyer concerned to communicate with the central bank authorities in this regard.
The HC bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman has passed the direction while hearing a writ petition filed challenging the legality of the BB circular.
During the hearing on Thursday, writ petitioner's lawyer Barrister AM Masum prayed to the court to pass an interim direction so that the BB could not implement the circular until the settlement of the writ petition.
Then the court verbally directed the BB lawyer Barrister Tanjib ul Alam to communicate with the central bank authorities so that they did not take any strict stance for implementing the circular before settlement of the case.
However, Mr Tanjib ul Alam said, "We told the court that we cannot afford it and we will enforce the circular in due time."
The court also hoped that the case would be settled before the timeframe - April, 2022 - fixed for implementing the circular.
Barrister AM Masum told the High Court that there was not a single country in the world where the regulatory body fixed the minimum salary of any bank or financial institution.
If the regulator fixes the salaries, it will be a burden for the banks or financial institutions as the income levels of different banks or financial institutions are not the same, he said.
On the other hand, Barrister Tanjib ul Alam said as a regulatory body, BB had the power to issue such a circular and the central bank had issued it in the interest of maintaining discipline in the banking sector of the country.
Following a writ petition, the same High Court bench on February 7 issued a rule upon the bodies concerned of the government to explain in one week as to why the BB circular that fixed the minimum salary for the entry level officials and staff of the private banks, should not be declared to have been issued without lawful authority.
After Thursday's hearing, the court adjourned the proceedings till March 9.
Lawyers Fida M Kamal and Tanjib ul Alam appeared in the hearing on behalf of the BB, while lawyers AM Masum, Saifur Rahman Rahi and Syed Mahsib Hossain appeared for the writ petitioner and Deputy Attorney General Bepul Bagmar represented the state.
Md Farhad Bin Hossain, a Supreme Court lawyer and also a shareholder of the One Bank through BO account, filed the writ petition challenging the BB circular fixing the minimum salary of the staff.
The court has already appointed four renowned lawyers as 'amici curiae (friends of the court)' to hear if the central bank has any authority to issue such a circular.
The amici curiae are Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, lawyers Ajmalul Hossain, Rokanuddin Mahmud and Probir Neogi.
For the first time in history, BB on January 20 this year fixed the minimum salary of entry-level officials of private banks in order to encourage the talented youth to take banking as a career and play a role for the economic advancement of the nation.
As per the circular, the minimum salary with allowance of assistant officer, trainee assistant officer, trainee assistant cash officer and equivalent officer has been fixed at Tk 28,000 and also fixed the minimum total salary of those officers upon completion of probation period at Tk 39,000.
