Legal officers say pay harmonisation has reduced their salaries and allowances

Concerns have been raised that the salaries and allowances of legal officers working in councils and government agencies have fallen following recent changes to the national pay structure.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has previously stated that salaries of unpaid employees will be increased this year. Under the pay harmonisation policy implemented in November last year, salaries of around 20,000 employees, including judicial staff, council administrative staff and civil service employees, were revised.

As part of the restructuring, legal officers in councils, ministries and other state agencies were placed under seven public service ranks designated for legal professionals within the new pay framework.

However, several legal officers report that their take‑home pay has decreased compared to previous months. To offset this, a migration allowance was introduced, which is deductible even when salary increments are applied. Despite this, it has been learned that many legal officers are not receiving their full salaries inclusive of allowances.

Before the harmonisation, a council legal officer at rank CS9‑2 received MVR 18,465 per month after pension deductions. Under the revised structure, salaries are calculated by adding the attendance allowance, but officers say the total amount still falls short of what they earned before November 1 last year. The reduced amount also fluctuates monthly, with salaries reportedly dropping to MVR 15,188.75 during periods of leave.

Over the past two months, several legal officers have submitted complaints to the National Pay Commission and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) seeking a resolution. The Pay Commission has responded, stating that any changes to the job matrix for legal professionals will be published on its website. However, employees say they have not received satisfactory responses from other relevant agencies.

Legal officers say the issue has remained unresolved for more than two months, prompting growing frustration among staff. Recently, a number of judiciary employees appeared at work dressed in black as a symbolic protest against the pay harmonisation changes.