Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said that the government’s proposed civil service pay rise should not be a blanket benefit, advocating instead for a reward scheme strictly linked to transparency and accountability.
Welcoming the decision to update the pay scale, the anti-corruption watchdog issued a statement on Tuesday calling for a mandatory mechanism requiring public servants and their dependent family members to update and publicly declare their income and asset statements annually.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman emphasised that the new pay structure must be restricted to employees who comply with annual financial disclosures, arguing that withholding benefits from non-compliant officials is essential to foster integrity and stamp out corruption across public services.
Warning that unconditional salary hikes have historically failed to curb irregularities, as observed following the eighth pay scale in 2015, the organisation stressed that raising remuneration without enforcing accountability risks deepening public sector corruption. While acknowledging that honest officials deserve a wage matching living costs, Iftekharuzzaman insisted that rewarding those who abuse power to accumulate illicit wealth remains entirely unjustified.
The government recently finalised plans to raise civil service salaries by between 100 and 142 per cent, to be phased in over the next two years.
Under the new framework, the starting basic salary for fourth-class employees will rise to Tk20,000, exceeding Tk33,000 with allowances, while first-class officers will see starting basic pay rise to Tk44,000, bringing total earnings above Tk70,000.
Despite debate over the feasibility of the increases amidst economic pressures, TIB described the phased rollout as a pragmatic response to an 82 per cent surge in inflation over the past 11 years, noting that realistic pay is a prerequisite for professional efficiency.
However, TIB cautioned that the substantial pay increases could fuel broader inflationary pressures and drive up the cost of essential goods, further straining low-income citizens. The watchdog urged the government to implement proactive economic safeguards alongside mandatory asset disclosures, a globally recognised anti-corruption tool, to break the cycle of public sector irregularity and protect taxpayers’ funds.
