Teachers and employees under the government鈥檚 monthly pay order system on the sixth day of their protests on Friday began an indefinite hunger strike as their demand for pay rise remained unfulfilled.
Several hundred teachers and employees from different districts, under the banner of 鈥楳PO-bhukto Shikkha Jatiyakaran Pratyashi Jote鈥� (platform of MPO teachers aspiring for nationalisation of education) gathered at Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka city on Friday morning and joined the ongoing sit-in, while a group of them began pre-announced hunger strike at around 2:00pm.
The protesters on Friday night also announced to hold a procession today with black flags from Shaheed Minar at 12:00 noon today.聽
Their demands include allocation of 20 per cent of their basic pay for house rent allowance, Tk 1,500 for medical allowance and an increase in the festival allowance for employees from the current 50 per cent to 75 per cent.
Platform member secretary Delawar Hossain Azizi told 抖阴精品 that they rejected Thursday鈥檚 government proposal that offered 5 per cent of their basic pay or minimum Tk 2,000 in house rent allowance.
鈥榊esterday we issued an ultimatum to the government to accept our three-point demand by 2:00pm today,鈥� said Azizi, adding that 80 of the protesters began the indefinite hunger strike as the government had not responded.
Since October 13, the protesters have been staging a continuous sit-in on the Central Shaheed Minar premises and observing countrywide work abstention.
Azizi said that they would continue the sit-in, work abstention and indefinite hunger strike until their demands were met.
Protesters on Friday morning also brought out a procession from Shaheed Minar marching to the Teacher-Student Centre in Dhaka University, where they ended the demonstration with a brief rally.
At the rally they castigated education adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar for his alleged 鈥榤isbehaviour鈥� with a delegation of the protesting teachers when they met his at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday.
The rally also demanded immediate issuance of a circular accepting the teachers鈥� three-point demand, said the organisation鈥檚 joint member secretary Abul Bashar.
Meanwhile, the University Teachers Network issued a statement expressing solidarity with the protesters and their demands.
On October 16, protesters suspended their 鈥楳arch towards Jamuna鈥� following suggestions from different political leaders, who expressed solidarity.
On October 15, protesting teachers and employees blocked the Shahbagh crossing for about three hours to press home their three-point demand, while on October 14, the police intercepted their march towards the secretariat when the protesters聽 blocked the road near the High Court crossing for about four hours.
The recent spate of protests by the MPO teachers and employees started on October 12, when the police used force to disperse them from the National Press Club.