Secretariat staff call off sit-in after assurance of government order on allowance

Employees have withdrawn their sit-in after receiving assurances that a government order (GO) will be issued to introduce a “Secretariat allowance”.

They ended their protest around 8:30pm on Wednesday, after blocking Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed inside his office for six hours on the fourth floor of the Finance Division, bdnews24.com reports.

Badiul Kabir, a leader of the employees’ union, said: “We have been assured that the GO will be issued tomorrow. We have withdrawn the protest.”

Staff from all ministries and divisions working inside the Secretariat began demonstrating after 2:30pm, gathering outside the advisor’s office to press for a 20 percent Secretariat allowance for all employees. The advisor was confined inside during the protests.

Deputy Commissioner Zahidul Islam of the Secretariat Security Division told bdnews24.com, “They came to meet the advisor with their demand for the allowance and are staging a sit-in there.”

The advisor later held a meeting in his office with the finance secretary and other officials, while the protest continued outside.

Several hundred non-cadre staff from various ministries joined the demonstration.

One personal officer to a secretary said, “When advisors, ministers and secretaries stay late at the office, we also have to stay.Staff at different departments receive different benefits beyond the payscale, but we are excluded. That is why we are demanding a 20 percent Secretariat allowance.”