BANGLADESH
An international survey of Bangladeshi Public Servants has revealed that 64 per cent believe they cannot be dismissed without a long and exhaustive process.
The survey, carried out by the University of London and the University of Nottingham, also made the strange finding that although most respondents said they had high job satisfaction they also had little motivation and cared little about ethical practice.
In all, 1,077 PS staff were interviewed over the two-year survey, Towards a Better Performing and Ethical Civil Service in Bangladesh .
One of its authors, Professor Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling from the University of Nottingham, said salaries were competitive, especially for the lower and middle ranks, even though many respondents said they needed more to sustain their families.
Responding to the survey, Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman from the Department of Public Administration at Dhaka University could not understand how unmotivated PS employees with little ethical awareness could have job satisfaction.
The report revealed that awareness of conflicts of interest in the public sector was limited; however, the majority of respondents thought that good performance was not rewarded.
Only a small minority thought they could easily find a better-paid job in the private sector.
Professor Meyer-Sahling said Bangladesh needed to form an evidence-based information system along with ensuring training for officials not only during their entry into the Public Service, but also throughout their careers.
Dhaka, 9 March 2019
