25 civil service cadres stage human chain protest across country
They were also protesting the commission's recommendation to remove education and health cadres from the civil service, and demanding the establishment of a ministry based on professional roles
Officials from 25 civil service cadres observed human chain protests across Bangladesh today (26 December), demanding equality among cadres and protesting the proposed exclusion of education and health cadres from the civil service.
In a press release, the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council said the programme was observed from 11am to 12pm in front of all offices nationwide.
The protest follows a recommendation by the Public Administration Reform Commission's recommendation to appoint 50% of deputy secretaries from the administration cadre and another 50% from the rest.
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They were also protesting the commission's recommendation to remove education and health cadres from the civil service, and demanding the establishment of a ministry based on professional roles.
The officials also expressed concern over the fire incident at building 7 of the secretariat in Dhaka, urging authorities to investigate whether it was an act of sabotage aimed at destroying corruption evidence.
They also mourned the death of a firefighter during the incident.
The council reaffirmed its commitment to continuing its efforts for an accountable and citizen-centric civil administration.
Previously, the council observed a one-hour pen-down strike on 24 December as part of its ongoing protests.
On 17 December, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, head of the Public Administration Reform Commission, proposed revising the promotion quota for deputy secretary positions to a 50:50 split between administrative and other cadre officials. He also proposed separating the education and health cadres from the civil service.
Since then, officials of the admin cadre and other cadres have been protesting the proposals.
Administration cadre officials, including retirees, have vented anger at the reform commission, accusing it of sowing discord between cadres instead of pursuing genuine reforms, and yesterday (25 December) even called for the removal of its head within 48 hours in a protest meeting.
They also called for the establishment of the Bangladesh Administrative Service by merging all administrative posts, from assistant secretaries to secretaries.
Bangladesh has 26 cadre services, with 75% of deputy secretary positions currently allocated to the admin cadre, and the rest to other cadres.
According to the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, the reform commission made the proposals without consulting the cadres. The council on 21 December announced a series of programmes in protest against the proposals.
As part of the programmes, a rally will be organised in Dhaka on 4 January.
