There was never any movement to raise the retirement age from government service. There was no meeting. The capital did not shake with slogans. There was no collective hunger strike in front of the press club. There was no storm of writing in the newspapers. However, in 2011, the retirement age of government employees was increased to 59 years. The fixed age of retirement for a government servant was 57 years. The age limit was increased by amending 'The Public Service (Retirement) Act-1974'.
Ever since the state decision to raise the retirement age from government jobs in 2011, there has been a strong demand to increase the age limit for entering government jobs. During the regime of the previous Awami government, there were several agitations, hunger strikes and even discussions in the national parliament to increase the age limit for entering government jobs, but the results were zero. Soon after the current interim government assumed office, the government took into account the strong demand to raise the age limit for entry into government service.
A committee was also constituted. The committee has already completed the study on the age limit. It is known from various media that the recommendation of the committee is not only in favor of raising the age limit for entry into government service but also in favor of raising the retirement age. It is heard that the upper age limit for entry and retirement in government service may be set at 35-65 and sometimes it is heard at 33-63. In general, as the entry age increases, so does the retirement age.
Increasing the retirement age will not really benefit the 30-year-old job seekers. Extending the retirement age by four/five years means that no government employee will retire for the next four/five years. As a result no vacancy will be created. If the vacancy is not created, there will be no recruitment notification including BCS. Those who were supposed to be promoted in the post will not be promoted as the posts are not vacant. Increasing the retirement age will not benefit anyone except certain professions.
Because the job of the head of an organization and the job of a fourth class employee are not the same. The increase in retirement age is not at all pleasant especially for those who are third/fourth grade government employees or grade 15 to 20 employees. The sooner the government employees who do manual labour work retire, the better. They end their working lives with the thought of spending the rest of their lives in comfort with their families with retirement benefits. An increase in retirement age is beneficial for an officer who leads a highly respectable social life but is highly depressing for lower level employees.
One of the arguments in favor of raising the retirement age from government service is that if a candidate who starts service at 35 years retires at 59 years, his service period becomes limited. Candidates joining the service at the age of 35 years will get only 24 years of service. So if that is the case then the candidate entering the service at the age of 35 years can only have his retirement age increased to 65 years. Retirement age can be increased to 63 only for those who enter service at age 33. On the other hand, the maximum retirement age will be 55 for those who join the service at the age of 25. That is, no employee can work for more than 30 years in his life. Retirement age limit should be applicable only to those candidates who will get job after attaining the maximum age limit. In no case shall it be effective in respect of any officer-employee who joined service thirty years before today.
Ever since the state decision to raise the retirement age from government jobs in 2011, there has been a strong demand to increase the age limit for entering government jobs.
A government employee gets promotion many times and increments year after year in his career. It is possible to ensure the employment of at least three unemployed candidates with the same amount of salary as a government employee who has been working for thirty years or more draws his salary at the last time. Starting from the age of 59, in the next five years, it is possible to eliminate the unemployment of half a million talented unemployed youth with the same amount of money as the salary of the senior officers-employees.
According to economist Mostafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow of research organization Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), raising the retirement age will put the government under long-term economic pressure. He also felt that raising the retirement age has immediate and medium long term effects. Increasing the retirement age will further increase the pressure on the pension. If the retirement period increases by four/five years, the amount of pension will also increase proportionately. A large portion of Bangladesh's budget is earmarked for salaries and allowances of government employees. In the fiscal year 2024-2025, eighty one thousand five hundred and eighty crore have been allocated for the salaries and allowances of government officials and employees. In the financial year 2023-2024, the allocation for this sector was seven thousand four hundred and ninety nine crore. Therefore, if the proposal to increase the retirement age is accepted, the government will have to increase the allocation in this sector which will be difficult for the interim government.
Information says that currently there are nineteen lac one hundred and eighty one approved posts in government jobs in Bangladesh. Among them there are three lac seventy thousand four hundred and forty seven vacancies. Approximately sixty to seventy thousand employees retire each year. If the retirement age is increased, they will not retire for the next four/five years. As a result, the number of job aspirants will gradually increase even if there are no vacancies. Unequal competition will begin. The movement will start again the movement for recruitment notification. New positions should be created for newcomers.
On the whole, raising the retirement age from government jobs should not be considered at all. Increasing the age limit for entry into government jobs is a long-standing expectation of the young society of Bangladesh. If the increase in age does not benefit the young unemployed, then what will this increase in age be useful for? Another argument has been raised for raising the retirement age. The argument is that if the minimum service period is not 25 years, a serviceman will not get full pension.
For an unemployed job seeker, getting a job is more important than future pension. Besides, if the retirement age is increased considering the pension, those who are working without pension in Govt/Semi Govt/Autonomous organizations will have no end of grief. Teachers of schools run by some autonomous institutions or bodies are deprived of pension. They have also been applying for pension for a long time through the appropriate authorities. The government does not care about that.
Raising the age limit for entry into government jobs will fulfill the dreams of hundreds of unemployed people in the country. They will study with renewed vigor to prepare themselves for competitive exams. But if the retirement age is raised, the dream of millions of unemployed youth will remain just a dream. The state should not break the minds of these dreamers by stopping the recruitment notification by increasing the retirement age. The writer is a teacher, Cantonment Board High School, Shahid Salahuddin Cantonment, Ghatail, Tangail
