Officers from 25 cadres start daylong work abstention over alleged discrimination

They are wearing black badges and demonstrating outside various government offices to protest inter-cadre discrimination

Officials from 25 cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service, or BCS, have launched a full-day work stoppage across Bangladesh, demanding an end to inter-cadre discrimination.

As part of the protest, members of the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council wore black badges and demonstrated outside their respective offices on Sunday.

“We are observing a nationwide work stoppage. Recently, 13 officers from our 25 cadres have been suspended for trivial matters like Facebook posts. However, no action has been taken against administration cadre officials for similar actions," said Muhammad Mofizur Rahman, the council's coordinator.

"The administration cadre has taken advantage of the discriminatory state system to hinder the activities of the 25 cadres," he added.

BCS officers from the department of livestock and agricultural resources have also joined the protest action.

Shahadat Hossain, an officer from the Department of Livestock, said, "We are observing a full-day work stoppage in protest against the suspension of officers from various cadres and demanding the elimination of inter-cadre discrimination. From 10:30am, we held an hour-long demonstration in front of our respective offices with black badges and banners."

Md Mahfuz, an officer from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, said, "One of the key measures of evaluating a person's intelligence is mathematical skills. Yet, subjects other than mathematics have been included and rote learning has been encouraged, which hinders proper evaluation of intellect."

Highlighting the suspension of the 13 officers, he said, "We strongly condemn and protest this. Today, we are observing a work stoppage and wearing black badges. In the coming days, the leaders of our organisation will announce further programmes.”

After the fall of the Awami League government, the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, an organisation representing 25 BCS cadres, began its movement with several demands, including opposition to various proposals of the Public Administration Reform Commission, the cancellation of the quota system for promotions to the position of deputy secretary and ensuring equality across all cadres.