The police on Sunday afternoon stopped a ‘bhukha michil’ (hunger procession) of teachers and employees under the government’s Monthly Pay Order (MPO) system on their way to the Shikkha Bhaban in Dhaka, setting up barricades near the High Court area.
The procession started from the Central Shaheed Minar around 3:20pm as part of the ongoing movement demanding higher allowances and better benefits for MPO teachers and employees.
Since October 12, they have been demonstrating to press home their three-point demand — a 20 per cent house rent allowance based on basic pay, Tk 1,500 as medical allowance, and an increase in festival allowance for employees from 50 per cent to 75 per cent.
Rejecting the government’s earlier proposal for a 5 per cent rise in house rent allowance, the protesters continued their hunger strike at the Central Shaheed Minar for the third consecutive day on Sunday under the banner of MPO-bhukto Shikkha Jatiyakaran Pratyashi Jote, a platform seeking nationalisation of MPO jobs.
Meanwhile, the Finance Division on Sunday issued a circular approving a 5 per cent (minimum Tk 2,000) increase in the house rent allowance for non-government teachers and employees under the MPO scheme. The letter was forwarded to the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the education ministry.