Conflict among cadres: Admin cadre officials hold protest rally

Admin cadre officials of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) have termed the likely proposals to be made by the public administration reform commission for promotion in the deputy secretary posts as discriminatory, irrational and conspiratorial.

Those were said at a protest rally, the former and current admin cadre officials have been holding at the BIAM Foundation auditorium in the capital today, Wednesday.

The commission is likely to propose reserving 50 per cent of deputy secretary posts for admin cadre officials and the remaining 50 per cent of posts for all other cadres against the current 75 per cent reservation for the admin cadre.

The protest rally was going on until the filing of this report at 11:30 am.

A large number of admin cadre officials have attended the rally, the former and in service officials called against “deep conspiracy to make the country unstable by diverting the initiative of the public administration reform to a different direction”.

Bangladesh Administrative Service Association and BCS (Admin) Kalyan Bahumukhi Samity Ltd. have taken the initiative to organise the rally.

Earlier on Sunday, the admin cadre officials staged a large gathering at the secretariat protesting against the reform proposals for promotion for deputy secretary posts.

Within a day of the gathering of admin cadre officials at the secretariat, the officials of 25 cadres observed a “pen down” for an hour Tuesday. As part of the programme, they want to hold a human chain and rally in phases. They also announced that they would hold human chains on Thursday.

There has always been psychological conflict among the officials of different cadres of the government over facilities and perks. This inter-cadre conflict has now become visible since the reform commission laid out some recommendations.

The admin cadre officials have become vocal as their quota for promotion will decline if the recommendations of the reform commission are implemented.

The Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, the platform of government officials belonging to 25 Bangladesh Civil Service cadres, have started a movement, with observing an hour-long “pen down” from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm on Tuesday.

They have started the movement on demand of cancelling the quota system in promotion at deputy secretary post, appointing secretary in the relevant ministry and in other policymaking posts from the officials of respective cadres and ensuring equal rights for all cadres.

If the demands are not met, the officials will hold a rally in Dhaka on 4 January 2025 and announce next course of action, said Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council coordinator Mohammad Mofizur Rahman