MPO teachers block Shahbagh intersection

Teachers from non-government MPO-listed institutions blocked Shahbagh intersection this afternoon to press for various demands including a 20 percent house rent allowance.

Law enforcers attempted to stop the procession in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh, but the demonstrators — chanting slogans and carrying banners — pushed through the barricade and took position at the intersection around 2:00pm, bringing traffic to a standstill.

They blocked the intersection as their ultimatum for the issuance of a circular meeting their demands expired at 12:00pm.

Photo: Star

A tense situation is prevailing amid the presence of a large number of police personnel.

Earlier in the day, at the Shaheed Minar rally, Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the Alliance for Nationalisation of MPO Institutions, reiterated that the government must fulfil their demands in full.

"The 20 percent house rent allowance cannot be reduced by even one percent. We will not accept Tk 1,499 as medical allowance — it must be Tk 1,500. The festival allowance for employees has to be 75 percent," he said.

"Our teachers were beaten in front of the press club … After such humiliation, the teaching community will not accept anything short of a gazette notification," he said.

He warned of further escalation if their demands remain unmet. "From Wednesday (today), we will enforce blockade Shahbagh. Teachers across the country will suspend all classes and abstain from academic activities until the notification is issued," Azizi declared.

From in front of the High Court, Azizi on behalf of the teachers made the announcement of their blockade programme last night.

He said if the government does not issue the gazette notification by 12:00pm today, they will block Shahbagh.

The teachers have been demonstrating at the Central Shaheed Minar since Sunday. Teachers across the country joined the protest after police dispersed their rally in front of Jatiya Press Club on Sunday using water cannons, baton charges, and sound grenades.

Later, they took position at the Shaheed Minar, where they protested the police action and announced a countrywide work abstention from the next day.

On August 13, the teachers had issued an ultimatum to fulfil their demands by September 14 but postponed their strike following assurances from the education ministry.

At entry level, MPO-listed teachers receive a monthly salary of Tk 12,500, including Tk 1,000 as house rent, Tk 500 as medical allowance, and 50 percent of their basic pay as festival allowance. Recently, the finance ministry approved a Tk 500 rise in the house rent allowance, which the teachers rejected, calling it "insufficient".

Currently, there are over 26,000 MPO-listed non-government institutions in the country, employing around 3.8 lakh teachers and 1.7 lakh staffers.