Bangladesh finds itself at a strange paradox today, caught between conflicting economic policies and priorities. On one hand, there is an announcement to double or triple the salaries of government employees; on the other, a diplomatic obligation to purchase billions of dollars worth of American Boeing aircraft while carrying a massive debt burden. Together, these factors are pushing the country’s overall economy toward extreme uncertainty.

Government Pay-Scale and Rising Social Disparity While a novice MBBS doctor in the capital earns a monthly salary of 30,000 to 40,000 BDT, that figure drops to a mere 15,000 BDT outside Dhaka. Yet, under the proposed pay scale, a 20th-grade 4th-class government employee will receive over 33,000 BDT per month. Although the government announced after the 8th Pay Scale in 2015 that no further pay commissions would be formed, it has backtracked on that stance a decade later. Under the new structure, salaries are being increased by up to 100 percent for the 1st to 11th grades and up to 141 percent for the 19th and 20th grades. As a result, the starting salary of a 1st-class officer will exceed 70,000 BDT.

Conversely, a large segment of the country’s 6 to 7 million private-sector employees suffers from severe salary inequality. Aside from multinational corporations and a few banks, entry-level salaries in most organizations are deeply disappointing. In addition to stoking resentment, this trend is undermining private sector morale and the ability to retain skilled workforce. According to experts and economists, although inflation has surged by 82 percent over the past 11 years, government employees did not lag behind due to continuous government incentives and annual increments. Therefore, this massive new pay hike will further exacerbate institutional disparity. Furthermore, it remains unclear where the additional funding of over 100,000 crore BDT required annually to implement the new scale will come from, especially given that the current fiscal year has already begun with a revenue deficit of thousands of crores of BDT.

Development or Tariff Diplomacy: The Immense Liability of Purchasing Boeings Amid this internal pressure of pay structures, Bangladesh has entered an extremely expensive acquisition due to international trade tensions. As part of a recent understanding with the United States, Bangladesh reached a deal to purchase 14 Boeing aircraft valued at approximately $3.7 billion (nearly 45,000 crore BDT). Moreover, in line with US commitments, the scope of this purchase could increase by several more billion dollars.

To be sure, the need to expand Biman Bangladesh Airlines' fleet cannot be entirely dismissed. Currently operating with 19 aircraft, Biman aims to expand its fleet to 47 by 2034–35. However, the fundamental question remains: is this purely growth for the aviation sector, or is it a scapegoat of diplomatic bargaining?

After the United States threatened to impose high tariffs on Bangladeshi goods in 2025, Bangladesh assured the purchase of American products to reduce the trade deficit. Subsequently, tariffs on readymade garments were reduced to 19 percent, followed immediately by the announcement of the Boeing deal. Additionally, a proposal to purchase aircraft from Europe's Airbus remains pending.

Future Debt and Short-Sighted Policies To finance the massive sum required for purchasing the Boeing aircraft, Biman Bangladesh will have to take out loans, for which the government must provide state guarantees. In other words, if Biman incurs commercial losses or fails, the burden of this multi-billion-dollar debt will fall squarely on the shoulders of the general public.

Both decisions—indiscriminately hiking salaries instead of controlling inflation, and shouldering a heavy debt burden to secure diplomatic advantages—highlight a lack of visionary economic planning by the state. Whether Bangladesh can maintain a sustainable economy while managing this enormous revenue deficit and debt liability, or whether ordinary citizens will pay the price for this short-sightedness, remains the defining question of our time.

Author: Dr. Abul Hasnat Milton, Journalist, Political Analyst, and Editor-in-Chief, The Source News Bangla