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The street protests of the historic mass uprising are long over, but everyday life in Bangladesh feels exactly the same. We were promised a new nation built on fairness, accountability and equal opportunity. But unfortunately, we have been observing that the old economic biases have not moved an inch. Instead of an inclusive society people fought for, a deep financial divide is splitting the country in two. The government’s move to implement the new pay scales for its 20 lakh (approximately) public sector employees has triggered severe economic anxiety across the nation. For the millions of workers in private sector, this policy is not just a source of inflation. It is also a profound systemic betrayal. Did the people expect this kind of favouritism in a post-uprising Bangladesh? If this is what public policy looks like in a “new” democracy, then private sector employees have been deceived and deprived by the very state they fought to reform.
When 20 lakh government employees suddenly receive a substantial salary hike, a wave of artificial demand hits the national economy. This tends to drive up the cost of daily essentials, house rent, and utility expenses for everyone. For the private sector employees, this triggers a dual crisis where market distortion meets a real wage slump. Public sector pay hikes will escalate the cost of living, which many private employers might not match due to high operating costs, gas shortages and strict credit markets. While the growing inflation erodes purchasing power, private sector workers face a real-time wage cut. Besides, their static salaries buy fewer goods in an artificially inflated market. The state seems to be fuelling inflation to comfort its own apparatus, leaving the primary engine of the national economy to absorb the shock without any cushion.
The core injustice of this economic model lies in its funding mechanism, as the new pay scales – apparently lavish – are completely subsidised by taxpayers’ money. Millions of private sector professionals (including teachers at private school/college/university) – from corporate managers to entry-level executives – have their hard-earned income sliced every month through “Advance Income Tax” (AIT) deducted at sources. They pay into the national treasury reliably and automatically, yet they receive almost zero tangible services or state facilities from the government in return. The government seems completely unconcerned about the huge number of private sector employees working tirelessly to contribute to the national economy. Most private sector workers do not have organised pay structures except banking sector. Many private organisations do not have good HR practices. Which is why their employees do not get any provident fund, gratuity or pension schemes to secure their future. A private worker is only as secure as their next paycheck, living under constant financial vulnerability.
This reality raises a troubling question about whether private sector employees are merely considered private citizens when it comes to state support, but public property when it comes to taxation. Despite being the primary tax generators, regular private sector taxpayers do not get premium services at public hospitals. They receive no privileges or specialised care when they fall sick. Furthermore, the regular taxpayers get absolutely no privilege or support in getting their children admitted into better schools or colleges. They are entirely left to fend for themselves in an expensive, commercialised private market for healthcare and education. However, their tax money is used to secure the livelihoods of the government officials.
The current structure suggests that the state continues to operate as an exclusive club for the bureaucracy. The uprising was fought to dismantle a kleptocratic tyranny, yet the system still prioritises the comfort of the public service administrators over the survival of wealth creators. When public policy heavily favours government employees while ignoring the millions who power agriculture, ready-made garments, technology and services, it ceases to be democratic. It forces citizens to ask a painful question: Will the country continue to be run and ruled by the corrupt state machinery? Instead of a fair equitable society, this policy mirrors a land of oligarchs where resources are funnelled to keep the bureaucratic apparatus content and compliant. If the transition from the old regime merely leads to a system that rewards state officials at the expense of the working public, then the state has shifted from a kakistocracy into a deeply entrenched bureaucratic autocracy.
A true economic inclusive approach requires a blueprint of shared responsibility and accountability. To address this crisis, the government must create a considerable national fund dedicated exclusively to the social security and post-retirement benefits of private-sector employees. This state-backed fund could facilitate a universal contributory provident fund, gratuity guarantees, or a comprehensive pension scheme tailored for non-government workers. By injecting public money into such a fund, the government would finally show that it values the citizens who generate its revenues. This fund can be managed transparently through public-private partnerships, ensuring that even mid-sized and small private companies or organisations can participate in this enterprise and secure their workers’ future.
The government must realise that Bangladesh’s economy is currently experiencing severe volatility. If the state can intervene to protect its own workforce from inflation, it has a moral and economic obligation to protect the private sector workers who generate revenues. To fix this systemic injustice, the government must immediately introduce mandatory structural reforms for private sector. Firstly, the Ministry of Labour must enforce mandatory corporate safety nets, ensuring every private company provides a provident fund and a gratuity scheme. Secondly, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) must introduce clear tax reliefs, such as raising the tax-free income threshold or offering direct automated rebates for private employees hit hardest by inflation. Finally, the state must link tax identification numbers (TIN) to public utility benefits, giving the verified taxpayers subsidised access to public healthcare and priority enrolment options in state-run educational institutions.
Bangladesh cannot thrive if its financial policies treat the actual builders of its economy as secondary citizens. Now the government must act dynamically and positively to balance the scales, or accept that they are ready to run a state that serves everyone but the people who pay for it.
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The writer is an Associate Professor of the Department of English at Stamford University Bangladesh. He can be contacted at [email protected]