The Bangladesh Branch Post Office Employees Unity Council has called for an indefinite hunger strike on June 8 at the Central Post Office (Dak Bhaban) in Dhaka, demanding a 9-point charter of demands, including salary increments and job permanentization. In preparation for this central program, a grand preparatory meeting was held in Nilphamari.
The meeting was organized by the Nilphamari District Branch of the Bangladesh Branch Post Office Employees Unity Council on Wednesday (June 3) afternoon at the Nilphamari Main Post Office premises. A large number of employees from 107 branch post offices across the district attended the meeting, expressing their solidarity and resolve to make the June 8 hunger strike successful.
Chaired by Jikrull Haque, Convener of the Nilphamari District Branch of the council, the meeting was attended by Hossain Selim Reza, Central Vice-President of the organization, as the chief guest. Moderated by the District Member Secretary Jamil Ahmed, the preparatory meeting was also addressed by local leaders, including Branch Postmasters Akram Khan, Rezwan Ahmed, Wahedul Islam, and Anisur Rahman.
Leaders' Grievances and Outrage:
Speakers at the meeting expressed deep resentment, stating that despite discharging state duties with utmost honesty and dedication at the union level, branch post office employees face extreme negligence. Currently, they receive a monthly honorarium of just over 4,000 BDT, which is severely disproportionate to the current market prices of essentials. Lacking a specific pay scale, bonuses, or festival allowances, they are living a subhuman life with their families. While employees of other government institutions enjoy various benefits, these grassroots workers of the postal department have long been deprived of state facilities.
Jamil Ahmed, Member Secretary of the organization's district committee, said, "We are not making any unjust demands; our demands are completely fair. It has become impossible to run a household with this meager honorarium. We hope the government will consider our situation from a humanitarian perspective and accept our demands swiftly."
The core 9-point demands of the employees include:
Recognition of non-departmental postal employees as permanent government staff.
Formulation of an independent pay scale for the employees.
Fixing daily working hours to 8 hours.
Provision of regular annual increments and festival allowances.
Ensuring job permanentization and retirement benefits.
Central Vice-President Hossain Selim Reza stated that like the rest of the country, employees from 107 branch post offices in the Nilphamari district will join the indefinite hunger strike at Dak Bhaban in the capital on June 8. The leaders issued an ultimatum, declaring that the movement would continue until their demands are met.
