Palli Bidyut staffers give 12hrs to remove BREB chairman; 1.20cr consumers out of electricity

Leaders of the Palli Bidyut Samity (PBS) Anti-Discrimination Movement have threatened to impose a "complete shutdown" across the country if all of their demands are not met within 12 hours.

In a media statement today (17 October), four coordinators of the movement issued the ultimatum.

Their demands include the removal of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) chairman, reinstatement of 20 PBS officials who were terminated yesterday (16 October) and today and others who were transferred today, the withdrawal of the false cases against movement coordinators and protesters, and meeting their two original longstanding demands.

If a circular, meeting their demands, is not issued within the deadline, 45,000 officers and employees of 80 PBSs will go on a nationwide complete shutdown and a long march to Dhaka, read the statement.

Meanwhile, protesting PBS employees in 17 service areas, where these sacked or transferred officials were posted, around the country went on strike today, leaving at least 1.20 crore consumers in those areas without power.

The areas include Dhaka-1, Dhaka-2, Netrokona, Barishal-1, Cumilla-1, Cumilla-2, Cumilla-3, Cumilla-4, Magura, and Brahmanbaria.

The statement said protesting staffers have been continuing their movement peacefully to push for their demands — end of discrimination in service terms and implementation of uniform service rules with BREB, and permanent employment status for contractual workers — while carrying out emergency services since January this year.

Since the ouster of the Awami League government in August, the PBS employees and officers have been vocal about these demands, while carrying out protest programmes including mass signature collection, work abstentions, march to BREB, human chains across the country, and submitting memorandums to the chief adviser and energy adviser of the interim government.

Saying they have written to the government advisers and power secretary several times but received no response, movement coordinators in the statement today claimed that BREB Chairman Major General SM Zia-Ul-Azim are presenting wrong information in front of the policymakers and using the Bangladesh Army to have the movement coordinators arrested.

They said the Power Division formed a committee back on 1 August to resolve the overall issue but it failed to give any recommendations because of BREB's uncooperative activities.

On top of that, BREB has lodged false cases against PBS officials, is having protesters arrested, terminating senior employees who are part of the movement, and transferring officials to harass them.

PBS is engaged in supplying electricity to about 14 crore customers in the country. The officers and employees of these associations controlled by BREB are constantly being subjected to various discriminations, according to the protesters.

Since the beginning of the movement, the staffers' key concerns included delays in payscale adjustments, non-payment of incentives, and the absence of fixed working hours for linemen.

Protesting staffers always said that there is a disparity in designation, salaries, benefits, promotion and weekly leave of permanent and contractual workers, despite working in the same organisation.

The protesters also underscored discrimination between permanent and contractual workers and expressed frustration over the dismissals, suspensions and transfers of those who voiced grievances.