Officials of 25 Civil Service cadres observe nationwide 1hr pen-down strike
Under the banner of the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, human chains will be formed in front of all offices from 11am to 12pm tomorrow
Officials from 25 Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) cadres across the country observed a one-hour pen-down strike today (24 December), in protest against the Public Administration Reform Commission's recommendation to appoint 50% of deputy secretaries from the administration cadre and another 50% from the rest.
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 one-hour work abstention was observed from 11am to 12pm in all offices across the country in line with protest programmes announced by the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, which represents the officials of 25 Civil Service cadres except those from the administration cadre.
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Only the officials from the admin cadre did not observe the pen-down strike, Md Mofizur Rahman, coordinator of the council, told TBS.
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.
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, admin cadre officials staged a demonstration at the secretariat in the capital on Sunday, each cadre association issued a statement regarding the situation on Monday; the one-hour pen-down strike was observed today; and human chains will be formed in front of all offices from 11am to 12pm tomorrow (25 December). Besides, a rally will be organised in Dhaka on 4 January.
Meanwhile, the BCS General Education Association today rejected the recommendation to exclude the BCS Education Cadre from the cadre structure. It demanded the appointment of general education cadre officers to policy-making positions in the Ministry of Education and all levels, and their inclusion in the deputy secretary pool through open competitive examinations.
In a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters Unity, Mohammad Tajib Uddin, acting general secretary of the association, presented a 15-point demand on behalf of the general education cadre.
