Teachers, staff threaten ‘March to Jamuna’ at noon if demands not met
The ongoing movement by MPO-listed teachers and employees of non-government educational institutions continued for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday.
They have been pressing for a three-point demand, including a 20 per cent increase in basic pay for house rent (minimum Tk 3,000).
Several thousand teachers and staff gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital around 10:00 am, were seen chanting slogans such as “We want 20 per cent house rent!”, “Teachers of Bengal, unite!” and “Stop mocking teachers!”
The demonstrating teachers and staff announced that if their demands were not met by noon, they would march towards the Chief Adviser’s residence in Jamuna, as part of their previously declared programme “March to Jamuna.”
‘Negotiations with the government’
Abul Bashar, joint member-secretary of MPO-bhukta Shikkha Jatiyakaran Protyashi Jote (an alliance of teachers that seek nationalisation of MPO-listed educational institutions), a platform of protesting teachers, said the interim government had proposed a 10 per cent house rent increase.
Speaking to Prothom Alo around 10:15 am today, Abul Bashar said, “Negotiations are ongoing with the government. They have expressed a willingness to raise house rent by 10 per cent. We spoke with government representatives last night, as well as two political leaders acting on behalf of the administration. However, we will not suspend our protest unless the increase is fixed at 20 per cent.”
He added that if a gazette notification confirming the raise was not issued by 12:00 pm today, the protesters would proceed with their ‘March to Jamuna’.
‘We were forced to take to the streets’
Teachers taking part in the protest said the government had failed to respect its previous commitments, leaving them no choice but to demonstrate.
They vowed not to return to work until their demand for a 20 per cent house rent increase was fulfilled.
Mehedi Hasan, a secondary school teacher from Mymensingh, told Prothom Alo, “The government did not initially take our demands seriously. Before we took to the streets, they promised to increase house rent by 20 per cent. But without following that, they issued a circular raising it by only Tk 500, which is an insult.”
“We had no option but to come out in protest. We will not return to our institutions until the 20 per cent demand is met,” he added.