Secretariat staff suspend protests for a day following govt assurances

NN Online:

Government employees at the Secretariat have decided to pause their ongoing protests for a day after receiving assurances from top officials regarding their demand to repeal the Public Service (Amendment) Ordinance 2025.

The decision was announced on Tuesday following a meeting between protest leaders and several senior secretaries at the Land Ministry.

“We do not support any amendment to the Public Service Act—we want the ordinance scrapped entirely,” said Nurul Islam, one of the protest leaders. “We conveyed this demand clearly during today’s meeting. In light of the government’s response, we have postponed Wednesday’s protest programme.”

Another protest leader, Badiul Kabir, confirmed the suspension, stating, “Tomorrow’s demonstration has been called off. We will wait to see how the government responds.”

Land Secretary ASM Saleh Ahmed, who led the dialogue from the government side, said, “The employees have demanded a full repeal of the ordinance. This message will be forwarded to the Cabinet Secretary tomorrow, and a decision will follow accordingly.”

The suspension, he noted, is based on this assurance.

Further action may be announced depending on the government’s next move, added Badiul.

Earlier in the day, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Roshid convened an emergency meeting with senior officials to address the unrest. It was decided that a delegation of secretaries would engage with the protesting employees.

At 2 PM, a group of top secretaries—including those from the Land Ministry, Housing and Public Works, Statistics, Local Government Division, and Youth and Sports—met with the demonstrators to hear their concerns directly.

The protest, which has been ongoing at the Secretariat, centers on opposition to the recently issued ordinance amending the Public Service Act—legislation employees fear will negatively impact job security and accountability.