Reconsider Populist Holiday Mania: Promote Work Culture

News came out in social media that PM Tarique did office even in holiday. Yesterday I phoned one of my seniors collogue, he has not picked up or respond, I am sure he will explain that it is holiday. Our political leaders including from our last interim government promoting a self-destructive culture, that we will consume more and more holidays and we will not work in off office hours.

Before Eid vacation, some Facebook pages forcefully came in my page, that some NGO workers pushing and pressing for more and long holidays, they are even placing different office circulars of some prominent NGOs. I have discarded those pages, as because, each NGO is unique so that decision will be unique, each NGO has the right to announce its own unique vacation schedule, I do not like any pressure in this regard.

This is my second Facebook posting on this issue, the populist syndrome on holiday mania of our political and government leaders in fact killing our economy and degrading our work culture.

Toady in Daily Star, respected Mamun Rashid has wrote an article title “Too many holidays are bad for any growth economy”. Now it is 17 to 23 March, then in most NGOs and may be in some autonomous bodies it is attached with 24 to 25 March attached to 26 March followed by weekend Friday and Saturday. Bravo, it is all most 12 days. Last interim government of Dr Eunus has set such precedence in 2025, during Eid Ul Fitr it was 28 March to 5th April. In the same year the Eid Ul Azha, holiday has declared for even longer period ie 5 to 14 June.

There was a Bangladesh Bank study covering 61 districts on impact of such a long holiday, economic and supply chain activities have slowed down, prices of essential goods have gone up, e.g., retail price of coarse rice stood taka 61 kg compared with taka 55 in the same period of previous year. Fine rice was selling at taka 78 kg, up from taka 70 of earlier year. The study indicated that such an extended holiday has impact price rice thus inflation.

In our NGO, one no workday, means a loss of taka 14 lac loss. As we must have to pay salary, we have taken it from our capital, it means it will erode our capital that could be utilized to give / invest in micro fiancé for poor borrower. In each month we must earn all most taka 11 crore so that we can be able to give salary to around 2 thousand staff, give cost of fund to several capital wholesaler without any mercy. We gave salary and cost of fund in same way during COVID time. We give more than crore tax to NBR and service fee to different government agencies. Irony is that if these NGO MFI suffer or their staff or leader die there are hardly any compensation from anyone.

In fact, we do not want that, but please stop these prompting “no work and holiday based consumptive culture”. You do not need to be populist to be popular, look at different countries and judge the history of industrial revolution in different countries, in Britain still junior doctors must work for daily 18 hours, they have only 8 to 10 days holiday in a year. In US in private companies, they must work all most 12 hours per day. Half of the young work age population still unemployed in our country, how you will make this a trillion-dollar economy, set objectives and target. Inspire the whole nation, so that there will be more job will be created for people, wage employment is the best employment. If government facilitate us with policy (in fact we do not need any subsidy money at all) we the NGO-MFIs we can accommodate all most all unemployed youths.

Author: Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Executive Director, Coast Foundation.