The pensioners of Bangladesh
I was a Government officer. I get pension each month. I go to Sonali Bank, Ramna Corporate Branch, Dhaka to get my pension allowances. I don’t face any difficulty yet in withdrawing my pension allowances since I am in good health, but gradually I will be older and weaker. It will be difficult to attend Sonali Bank Pension Counter then.
The pensioners need to be present to the pension counter because it is necessary to know whether the pensioner is alive or not. This system is cruel. The pensioners are aged and many of them are very sick. I have seen that their sons and other relatives are carrying them on their shoulders because they are unable to walk. They suffer a lot. This is torturous for the old and sick pensioners.
During their youth, they worked very hard for the Government and the county. Let me cite one example. I have seen them typing one letter twelve times. At that time there was no computer. The employees typed on manual typewriters. The high officials made corrections again and again. They had perfectionistic demands. They wanted to make the writings perfect. These were summaries, briefs, letters etc.
Their labour had a low price. They were ill-fed and ill-clothed. There is an unequal distribution of wealth in the socio-economic structures of Bangladesh. The Government officers at mid-level and higher levels are well-paid. The Government employees below the officer ranks are ill-paid. The salary structure is based on the exploitation of the lower ranking employees. Salaries of the high officials are much higher than that of those who are below the officer-ranks. Sometimes these lower level staff went on strike with the demand for increasing salary. In the end, the high officials were benefitted much more than the lower level employees. The salary structure must be reviewed so that the income disparity among the Government employees, from the top to the bottom gets reduced and balanced. In this context, I would like to add my personal experience. I lived in the YMCA Hostel, Auckland, New Zealand for some time. The cleaners of the hostel had cars. They came to their works by cars that they drove themselves. The weekly payments of the receptionists and the cleaners were almost the same. The developed countries practice socialism in the real sense of the term. There is little difference between the physical work and the intellectual work. I hope, gradually our systems will also be upgraded to that level.
The Government needs to know whether the pensioner is alive or not. Some Government employees and officials may be engaged for this purpose. They can visit the pensioners’ home by using the Government transports. These transports are misused to a great extent. Most of the time these transports are used for personal purposes. As such, the visits to the pensioners’ home can be arranged easily. This is consistent with the social and the moral values of Bangladesh. Our children will learn to respect the elderly and the helpless people.
We have good news too. The Government launched a salary and pension fixation online system for Government employees. The aim is to make their salary fixation easy and reduce the sufferings in drawing pension (Reference: New Age dated 17 December 2015). The Finance Minister, AMA Muhith formally inaugurated the system at the secretariat. Under this system, the pension money will be sent to the bank accounts of the pensioners through electronic bank transfer and the pensioners will be informed through SMS to their mobile phones. The pensioners will be able to draw their pension money from their bank accounts as and when it would be convenient to them.
I appreciate the steps taken by the Government. I am not aware of this. I am sorry for my ignorance. I go to the pension counter of Sonali Bank, Ramna Corporate Branch, Dhaka to draw my pension allowances. I wait at the counter for a long time. I see other pensioners too who are very sick and weak. Some of them were carried by their sons on their shoulders. This is very sad. I am very depressed.
I think they do not know about the new system. It is good if the pension counters inform us about changes in the Government policies regarding pension. A written information booklet is good because many pensioners are not mentally capable due to their old age. In that case, their sons and daughters can be aware of the ongoing rules and regulations regarding pension. Our people become old much earlier than the real old age. They fight with poverty, malnutrition, social complexities, rapid changes in social values and ethics etc. In many cases, they cannot financially be dependent on their married sons. The society is changing. Individualistic values make lives difficult for the old people. Longevity in Bangladesh is low. Our pensioners do not live long. Let us make them happy for the last few days of their lives.
