Judicial employees warn of strike across country
Staff Reporter :
Judicial employees across the country have threatened to go on strike if their two-point demand is not met immediately. The Bangladesh Judicial Employees Association (BJEA) announced the program at a press conference at the National Press Club in the city on Saturday.
The demands included providing salaries and allowances in accordance with the Bangladesh Judicial Service salary scale and abolishing block posts and formulating a separate service rules for them.
Placing the demands in a written statement, the organization’s president Md. Rezwan Khandaker, highlighted various inequalities in the judiciary.
At that time, he said that after the judiciary was separated from the executive branch on November 1, 2007, the service rules were formulated with six grades and a separate pay scale for judges, but auxiliary employees were not included in that pay scale.
Court auxiliary employees work in the same office with judges. However, although judges’ salaries and allowances are in accordance with the Judicial Service pay scale, auxiliary employees receive salaries and allowances in accordance with the public administration.
Apart from this, many employees are retiring after serving in the same position for 38-40 years without promotion, which is not desirable in any way.
Rezwan Khandaker said that an office assistant in the secretariat can be promoted to the post of deputy secretary. In the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, an office assistant can be promoted to the post of deputy registrar. There are opportunities from police constable to additional police superintendent. However, the auxiliary employees of the subordinate courts are the victims of 100% discrimination.
He said that discussions have already been held several times, including submitting a memorandum to the highest level of the state, to implement the two-point fair demands. Although assurances were given in the discussions to implement the demands, there has been no visible progress yet.
Rezwan Khandaker warned, “If our two-point just demands are not met by May 5, the subordinate judicial employees across the country will observe a two-hour all-out strike from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at their respective workplaces. If the demands are not met even after this, they we will go for a stricter program.
Organization’s General Secretary Kazi Md. Salauddin, Vice President Md. Nazim Uddin, Organizing Secretary Tariq Ahmed Rinku and other judicial employees from across the country were present at the press conference.