Do everyone's demands have to be raised right now?

On the evening of 21 August the chief advisor of the interim government could not emerge from his residence despite trying very hard.  The security personnel tried to clear the demonstrators from the path, but failed. A few days ago he was supposed to meet with certain foreign diplomats at a hotel nearby, hardly seven minutes walking distance away. But Dr Yunus arrived quite late. A crowd had gathered in front of his residence with their demands. They imagined they were victims of serious discrimination. They could only be freed of this discrimination if their jobs were made permanent. And that that had to be done immediately, right at that moment.

Among those demanding immediate fulfillment of their demands are non-government employees of government colleges, MATS students, employees of certain government departments including the women and children affairs directorate, workers on daily contract, workers of contracting companies, workers of private companies providing contractual services, those who had lost their jobs, and more. They are demonstrating for their demands from morn till night.

Such demonstrations demanding immediate recompense are sprouting up all over, at the secretariat to the Police Bhaban, at Shahbagh, all over. The secretariat employees have already threatened to bring the secretariat to a complete halt unless their nine-point demand is met. They had announced an all-out programme with three persons, including president and general secretary, from every ministry and department.

The nine points include 1. Immediately reserving one-third of the posts at various levels for non-cadres; 2. changing the posts of various grades to eliminate the existing discrimination; 3. reinstating the time scale and selection grade recommended by the 2015 pay commission dropped due to certain cases; 4. reducing the grades in the pay scale from 20 to 16; 5. reinstating 100 per cent pension; 6. fixing the gratuity rate at 1:500 instead of 1:230; 7. dissolving all block posts and creating scope for promotion with equal status and scale; 8. forming the 9th national pay commission immediately; and more.

At 10:00am on the morning of 18 August, the women working under the Tothyo Apa project staged a sit-in in front of Jamuna. There are over 2000 women working in this project. They are all working on contractual basis. This project which employed only women, ended on 30 June. The immediate past government had taken initiative to renew it for another year.

That night the village police also came to demonstrate in front of Jamuna. In the morning they had taken position in front of Press Club. They had taken position in front of the Chief Justice's house in the afternoon, but later at night came in front of Jamuna. They said they would not budge from there until their demands were met. The village police are rallying for their temporary monthly basis jobs to be made permanent.

In the eighties the global financial institutions had prescribed outsourcing in order to cut costs on a top heavy administration. Based on this outsourcing concept, many security companies sell security services to offices, houses, flats and so on. All sorts of service providers have mushroomed, doing the government tasks. The municipal organisations in our country do their work through various contracting companies. They give jobs to whom they please, paying or not paying, as they please. They cut payments. They do not give leave. They have jobs, but it's "no work, no pay".

The neglected employees of the outsourcing companies have joined in the queue of demonstrators. They say that many of them lose their jobs due to tender complications. Then at the end of the year, in June the companies demand huge bribes to renew their jobs. If they don't pay, they lose their jobs. Even then they are not paid regularly every month. Sometimes their wages remain due for five to six months, sometimes for one to two years even. One of the leader-types among them said that all those who have lost their jobs must be reinstated. They are deprived of risk allowance, incentive, Eid bonus and other bonuses. The government speaks of payment through bank accounts, but the contractors pay cash. Wages are taken from the hands of the contractors in the districts and upazilas. They pay as they please, not according to the rate fixed by the government. They don't even pay on time.

There are more movements and sieges. There are the "anti-discrimination 43rd BCS non-cadre" demonstrators. There is the Bangladesh assistant commissioners (land) drivers' anti-discrimination employees council. Members of the police who lost their jobs during the immediate past government on 19 August started a fast-till-death hunger strike in front of the police headquarters. There were around 700 members of the police there. They would not move without meeting the IGP. They probably didn't get to meet him and at around 8:30pm the gathering had thinned out considerably.

The list will go on. While it may seem harsh to many, the Students against Discrimination organisation coordinator Sarjis Alam quite correctly said, "Those who did not have the courage to speak out over the past 16 years, those who did not dare to take to the streets in 53 years, want everything to be resolved within the 16 days that the interim government has been installed. These people are taking to the streets in their minor personal or group interests. They are paying siege to the secretariat and other institutions."

Given the prevailing situation, one may well wonder if there is an underhand move to shut down everything. On 6 October last year when speaking to journalists, the departed prime minster Sheikh Hasina said, "If these issues are raised too much, I will shut down everything." She had been replying to a question regarding the reserves and the power situation. After returning from foreign trips, she would call journalists of her liking. That day she had returned from attending the UN General Assembly. At that event of adulation, she replied to the sycophantic journalists as they lavished praise on her. She said irritably, "Even after I settled everything, I still have to hear about elections, votes, economy, over-smart questions. I am not going to listen to all this."

We must keep in mind, the party that has exited and its government, have not left a single flower in the garden. So there is no chance of us getting a whiff of fragrance when the wall breaks. Unless the system is changed, unless society is built up anew, we will fall into a hole again.

When Ershad was removed, it took 24 years to remove the cover and emerge from that hole. If that hole is covered again, it will be even harder to open.

* Gawher Nayeem Wahra is a writer and researcher. He can be contacted at nayeem5508@gmail.com
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir