Proposals to recruit staff for around 100,000 temporary posts in grades 16 to 20 across various government offices have been left pending.
Ministries and divisions cannot recruit for these third- and fourth-class positions because of revisions to the outsourcing policy. As a result, they cannot hire staff despite the demand, leaving members of the public deprived of essential services.
Until now, government offices recruited third- and fourth-class employees through outsourcing agencies or private companies. Under the revised policy, however, they can no longer recruit through private companies.
Ministries, divisions and government offices can recruit staff directly. Alternatively, a ministry or division may recruit through the Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Company (IIFC), a specialised organisation approved by the Finance Division.
The problem arose from the revision of the Service Procurement through Outsourcing Process Policy, 2025. The Ministry of Finance issued the policy on 21 September.
The revised policy allows government offices to obtain services directly from individuals instead of engaging private companies to provide outsourced services.
However, the Public Procurement Act and Rules contain no provision for procuring such services directly from individuals. Nor do the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) specify how ministries can directly recruit temporary staff for grades 16 to 20. Consequently, legal complications have emerged in implementing the new policy.
Since the revised policy came into force, various ministries and divisions have been unable to recruit third- and fourth-class employees through service-providing companies. At the same time, they cannot recruit the staff directly either.
Officials from various government departments and people familiar with the sector consider the policy incomplete and flawed. They say it does not clarify what will happen to ongoing tender processes for hiring staff through service-providing companies. Several ministries have written to the Ministry of Finance seeking a clear explanation of the matter.
Asib Ahsan, joint secretary of the Health Education and Family Welfare Division, told Prothom Alo that the division had asked the Ministry of Finance how it should handle ongoing tenders. His division plans to recruit several thousand service workers on a daily-wage basis. However, the lack of clarity in the policy has prevented it from proceeding with these appointments.
Since the revised policy came into force, various ministries and divisions have been unable to recruit third- and fourth-class employees through service-providing companies.
At the same time, they cannot recruit the staff directly either. In response to this situation, the Finance Division has written to the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), requesting the necessary amendments to the Public Procurement Act and Rules. The Finance Division sent the letter on 21 September.
Recruitment stalls across various ministries
According to relevant sources at the Ministry of Finance, the new policy has stalled proposals to recruit staff for temporary posts under various ministries and divisions. These positions include hospital cleaners, laboratory assistants, trolley attendants and other service workers. The proposals also cover recruitment for cleaning and other support services at government residences and offices.
The revised policy allows government offices to obtain services directly from individuals instead of engaging private companies to provide outsourced services. However, the Public Procurement Act and Rules contain no provision for procuring such services directly from individuals. Nor do the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) specify how ministries can directly recruit temporary staff for grades 16 to 20.
Various institutions under the Ministry of Health have proposed recruiting around 20,000 service workers. Meanwhile, the Public Works Department plans to recruit around 5,000 employees to maintain government residences and offices. However, the new policy has prevented these recruitment processes from moving forward.
Relevant sources said similar situations had arisen in the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture and several other ministries. Overall, recruitment proposals for around 100,000 temporary posts in grades 16 to 20 remain pending.
What is the Finance Division proposing?
In a letter dated 21 September, the Finance Division stated that it had revised the Service Procurement through Outsourcing Process Policy, 2025 to improve efficiency in government operations, ensure services are delivered in the shortest possible time, strengthen transparency and accountability, reduce public expenditure and procure quality services.
The letter stated that the Public Procurement Act, 2006, and the Public Procurement Rules, 2025, classify outsourcing as a physical service. However, neither the Act nor the Rules covers the procurement of such services directly from individuals.
The Finance Division therefore asked the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) to take the necessary steps to incorporate provisions allowing the direct procurement of outsourced services from individuals into the Public Procurement Act and Rules, so that the revised policy could be implemented.
BPPA’s observations
In response to the Finance Division’s letter, the BPPA reviewed the proposal to procure outsourced services directly from individuals, along with the amendments the Finance Division had made to the policy.
In a letter to the Ministry of Finance dated 14 October, the authority stated that one of the main objectives of introducing outsourcing was to avoid direct contractual relationships between government offices and service workers.
Another objective was to prevent the financial and administrative complications that could arise if these workers later demanded inclusion in the government’s revenue budget.
Under the current system, the procuring authority signs a contract with a service provider selected through a competitive process. The service workers then provide services at government offices as employees of that company. However, allowing government offices to enter into contracts directly with individuals would fundamentally change the outsourcing framework. This could lead to the re-emergence of the complications that the existing system was designed to avoid.
The BPPA also noted that many individual service workers might lack the expertise required to follow and fulfil the prescribed contractual arrangements for providing services under the legal framework governing public procurement. As a result, implementing contracts directly with individuals could prove difficult.
The authority further warned that excluding private service providers could adversely affect the existing service sector. It could also raise questions about equal participation in public procurement.
The BPPA’s observations noted that barring private-sector participation in any government procurement process could conflict with the legal framework governing public procurement and international practices.
In addition, Rule 99(1)(b) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2025, requires government-owned entities that provide physical services through direct contracts to deliver those services using their own personnel.
Therefore, the authority believes that the government should also consider the staffing levels, institutional capacity and potential conflicts of interest of the relevant public-sector organisations when assessing their ability to provide outsourced services nationwide.
The BPPA’s letter stated that the government should also review the methods used to select service workers, contractual liabilities and private-sector participation in a coordinated manner. The authority has therefore requested discussions involving the Finance Division, the BPPA and relevant stakeholders to determine the next steps.
2 opposing views on outsourcing
Opinions differ on whether government offices should recruit staff in grades 16 to 20 through private companies. Temporary employees recruited through private firms allege that they have to pay substantial sums to service providers before securing jobs in government offices.
Even after they start working, the companies deduct a portion of their monthly salaries. Describing the practice as a form of slavery, these workers have been demanding that the government recruit them directly.
Owners of private companies, however, argue that private recruitment allows them to train employees before assigning them to work. They also hold the workers accountable if any untoward incident occurs.
They contend that the government lacks the capacity to provide such training if it recruits employees directly. They also argue that holding workers accountable would be difficult if an untoward incident occurred under direct government recruitment.
Abu Taleb, president of the Bangladesh Outsourcing Manpower Provider Society, told Prothom Alo that private companies had recruited more than 500,000 workers for government institutions. He said the service providers were responsible for training, monitoring and ensuring accountability among these employees before and after recruitment.
The government now wants to recruit third- and fourth-class employees directly, he said, adding that this would increase disorder in government operations.
He also believes that direct recruitment would lead to more irregularities and corruption among government officials. Moreover, government institutions lack the capacity to recruit such a large workforce.
Why outsourcing recruitment was introduced
Sources at the Ministry of Finance said the government first introduced an outsourcing policy in 2008. At the time, the government argued that expenditure on salaries, allowances and pensions for public officials and employees was increasing and needed to be reduced.
To cut spending on various allowances and pensions, the government began recruiting workers for third- and fourth-class positions on a temporary basis from 2009, rather than appointing them directly to permanent government posts.
The policy stipulated that government authorities could not enter into contracts with individuals when procuring outsourced services. Instead, they had to sign contracts with recognised private companies. Authorities were also prohibited from issuing appointment letters in the names of individual workers.
The government subsequently revised the policy twice more, in 2018 and 2025.