Teachers and employees under the government鈥檚 monthly pay order system on Wednesday announced that they would march to the chief adviser鈥檚 official residence Jamuna in the capital Dhaka today to press for their one-point demand for nationalisation of their jobs.
They said that if the government failed to meet their demand by 12:00pm today, they would start the march towards Professor Muhammad Yunus鈥檚 official residence.
Since October 12, the MPO teachers and employees have started their latest protests with three demands, including giving 20 per cent of their basic salary as house rent allowance, Tk 1,500 as medical allowance and an increase in the festival allowance for employees from the current 50 per cent to 75 per cent.
After the blockade for about three hours in the capital鈥檚 busy Shahbagh crossing area, they announced on Wednesday evening that from today they would protest to press for a one-point demand.
The blockade from about 2:00pm to about 5:00pm halted vehicular movement at Shahbagh and created heavy traffic congestion in the adjacent areas, including Banglamotor, Science Laboratory, High Court, Paltan and Dhaka University, causing immense sufferings to the commuters.
The MPO teachers and employees on the day also continued countrywide work abstention and non-stop sit-in programme on the Central Shaheed Minar premises on the Dhaka University campus for the third consecutive day.
Different political and social organisations expressed solidarity with the teachers and employees on the day.
Since Wednesday morning, several thousand teachers and employees gathered from different districts at the Central Shaheed Minar premises under the banner of MPO-bhukto Shikkha Jatiyakaran Pratyashi Jote, a platform of the MPO teachers and employees.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the protesting teachers and employees had announced that they would block the Shahbagh crossing area at noon on Wednesday if the government failed to meet their demands by that time.
After 1:30pm on Wednesday, they brought out a procession towards Shahbagh crossing from the sit-in venue through the Dhaka University campus, chanting different slogans.
Police tried to stop the procession by putting barricades near the Shahbagh police station but protesters broke the barricades and blocked the crossing at about 2:00pm.
A large number of police personnel were deployed in the area to maintain law and order situation there.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ramna Division deputy commissioner Masud Alam told 抖阴精品 that police talked with the protesters several times and requested them not to block the crossing considering public suffering but they refused to drop their programme.
Traffic police diverted vehicles at different points to mitigate the public suffering, he added.
The protesting teachers and employees left the Shahbagh crossing at about 5:00pm and returned to their sit-in venue at the Central Shaheed Minar premises.
At the premises, the platform鈥檚 member secretary, principal Delawar Hossain Azizi, announced the one-point demand 鈥� nationalisation of jobs of all teachers and employees under all MPO educational institutions in the country.
鈥榃e have blocked the crossing today [Wednesday] as the government failed to address our demands,鈥� he said, adding that the protesters would march to Jamuna if the government failed to meet their one-point demand by issuing a circular by 12:00pm today.
The platform鈥檚 joint member secretary, Abul Bashar, said, 鈥榃e will not return to the classes until our demands are met.鈥�
Meanwhile, Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki and Amar Bangladesh Party chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the protesting teachers and employees.
They went to the Shahbagh crossing to extend their support to the protesters.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Rangpur reported that MPO teachers and employees in non-government schools, colleges and madrasahs in the district continued work abstention for the third consecutive day.
Several teachers formed human chain for about an hour in the city in the morning to press for their three demands.
On Tuesday, the police intercepted the teachers and employees鈥� march towards the secretariat from the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka by putting barricades while the protesters blocked the road near the High Court crossing for four hours.
Earlier, on October 12, the police dispersed the teachers using water cannon, hurling sound grenades and charging batons in the capital as they blocked the road in front of the National Press Club.
At the entry level, an assistant teacher at the secondary schools under the MPO system gets Tk 12,500 as gross salary, Tk 1,000 as house rent and Tk 500 as treatment allowance.
Every month, 10 per cent of the gross salary is deducted for the welfare trust of the teachers.
The MPO teachers and employees have taken to the streets time and again as their demand for pay hike has remained unmet for long.
