DMTCL drafts long-awaited service rule, organogram for 3,800 metro rail staffers
Draft rule set for board approval amid push to formalise metro rail workforce structure
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Almost a decade after its formation, the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has finally drafted its service rule to ensure the proper functioning of its employees, and has proposed an organogram of more than 1,800 staff.
However, the total number of personnel, including outsourced workers, who will be engaged in the Dhaka metro rail company stands at 3,800, sources said.
DMTCL's own staff will number 1,891-up from 1,356 under the existing organogram approved by the board in 2017.
Sources said the service rule of the state-owned company is now awaiting approval at the upcoming board meeting.
The DMTCL has been operating with inadequate manpower, relying mostly on bureaucrats and retired engineers from the railway and roads and highways sectors, due to a delayed recruitment process.
The recruitment drive began four years after the company was formed in 2018, but progress was further hampered by the nationwide lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020.
Under the initial organogram, DMTCL recruited 865 staff from grade nine. Employees in grade 10 and above are mostly outsourced.
Although the company has been implementing four mass rapid transit (MRT) lines-including one already partially operational at an estimated cost exceeding Tk 1.0 trillion-the formulation of its service rule was allegedly delayed due to procrastination by the former Managing Director (MD).
The position of MD was reportedly occupied illegally by the secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) shortly after his retirement in 2018.
The current organogram was approved after significant revisions to the version proposed by consultants. MRT Line 6, which commenced phased operations from Uttara to Motijheel in December 2022, continues to be managed with inadequate staffing.
The DMTCL faced its first staff protest soon after the Awami League government was ousted on 5 August last year, following the July uprising.
The disgruntled employees, from grade 10 and above, halted the MRT Line 6 operations in protest against disparities in salary, promotion, and other benefits.
According to official sources, the draft service rule proposes operating DMTCL with four directors under the MD, who will oversee three wings directly: project governance, company secretariat, and audit.
Each director-administration, operations, finance, and planning-will be supported by general managers (GMs) and deputy general managers (DGMs).
Three GMs will report to the director of administration, while the director of operations will have five GMs. The finance and planning directors will oversee two and one GM, respectively, to manage the company's various administrative, operational, and management functions.
An official added that the top three tiers of the organogram, including the MD and directors, are proposed to remain open for recruitment from either the domestic or international job market, or from relevant government technical cadres on deputation.
Recruited technical staff and engineers, beginning at grade nine, may also be eligible for promotion to these top positions in future, based on their performance and skills, assessed every three to five years.
"The draft service rule has already been reviewed by a vetting committee, as recommended by the board," the official said, adding that it is likely to be placed at the next board meeting.
smunima@yahoo.com