Varsity teachers on all-out work abstention seeking exit from universal pension

Teachers of public universities have declared an all-out work abstention from 1 July, if the authorities do not meet their demands regarding pension and salary scale in the meantime.

Their demands include the withdrawal of the gazette notification that designated public university teachers under the newly launched universal pension scheme, inclusion in the super grade, and the introduction of a separate pay scale for them.

The university teachers have already been enforcing a half-day work abstention for the last three days, excluding examinations from its purview.

As there has been no response from the authorities, the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association (FBUTA) announced a full-day work abstention on Sunday and an all-out work abstention from 1 July if their demands are not met already.

The announcement came following a half-day abstention programme and a rally on the arts building premises at Dhaka University on Thursday. The DU teachers declared to refrain from all classes, examinations, and official activities from 1 July, potentially leading to a standstill in public universities.

On Thursday, similar programmes took place at Jahangirnagar University (JU), Jagannath University, and some other public universities. JU teachers gathered on the premises of the social science faculty and abstained from work until 12:00 pm.

Motahar Hossain, president of the JU teachers association, announced that they would also hold an all-out work abstention from 1 July and that no teachers would return to classes until the demands are met.

The finance ministry issued the gazette notification regarding the inclusion of university teachers in the universal pension scheme on 13 March. The FBUTA has since been holding protests.

Following intermittent programmes, they have been holding half-day strikes since Tuesday. Pro-Awami League teachers are leading the movements, while pro-BNP ones are also attending.