Staff Reporter :
The 25 cadre officers observe a full-day strike today (Sunday) to demand the withdrawal of the suspension orders issued to 12 BCS officers due to their posts on Facebook and to address the issue of inter-cadre discrimination.
During the strike, officials will wear black badges and stand in front of their respective offices with banners from 10:30am to 11:30am. “However, emergency services, including hospital emergency departments, will remain operational.
Earlier, the announcement was made during a press briefing by Muhammad Mafizur Rahman, the coordinator of the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Resolution Committee, at the Agricultural Information Service conference room in Khamarbari, Dhaka, on Saturday.
Mofizur warned that if the issue is not resolved within the next week, they will be compelled to announce stricter programmes. “We hope the concerned authorities will take necessary steps to address the matter.”
During the meeting, the council also presented 15-point proposal to address disparities among Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) cadres.
In his keynote speech, Mofizur highlighted that the Public Administration Reform Commission had previously received proposals from the 25 cadres for establishing profession-based ministries and abolishing the quota system for appointments to the post of deputy secretary.
He emphasised that while civil service professionalism has been widely advocated, the reform commission’s report appears to favour further concentration of power in the hands of a particular influential group.
“If fully implemented, this report will undermine state reform efforts and strengthen administrative fascism,” he said.
The keynote paper also pointed out concerns about education and health sectors.
Mofizur argued that rather than removing these sectors from cadre-based services outright, the recruitment process is being subtly altered to gradually detach them from mainstream administration.
Additionally, the council’s coordinator criticised the exclusion of family planning cadre from reform proposals and the unjustified recommendation to remove the statistics cadre from the service, stating that such measures would discourage talented individuals from joining these sectors, ultimately leading to a talent drain.
Key proposals presented by the council include the implementation of profession-based ministries where each cadre oversees its relevant ministry, abolishing the quota system for deputy secretary appointments to ensure merit-based recruitment, and ensuring equal treatment for all BCS cadres.
