Government primary school teachers are set to launch a nationwide strike on Thursday, according to a press release issued on Wednesday by the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council.
The strike has been announced under the leadership of Md Abul Kasem, President of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Kasem-Shahin); Md Shamsuddin Masud, Central President of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association; Khairun Nahar Lipi, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Shahin-Lipi); and teacher leaders Mahbubur Rahman and Md Anwar Ullah.
The council stated that the action comes in response to demands including: fixing the salary of assistant teachers at the 10th-grade level, resolving complications regarding promotions after 10 and 16 years of service, and ensuring 100% departmental promotion from assistant teacher to headteacher.
The teachers began their sit-in program on November 8. Subsequent demonstrations, including a central sit-in at Shaheed Minar in Dhaka and a pen-surrender protest at Shahbagh, led to clashes with police, leaving over a hundred teachers injured.
Following meetings with senior officials, including the Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on 9 November and the Ministry of Finance on 10 November, the government issued the Gazette for 11th grade. However, as sufficient progress has not been made on other demands, the council has moved forward the previously announced continuous strike from 30 November to Thursday.
The three key demands of the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council are:
- Fixing the salary scale of assistant teachers at the 10th-grade level.
- Resolving complications regarding higher grades after 10 and 16 years of service.
- Ensuring 100% departmental promotion from assistant teacher to headteacher.
