Secretariat employees halt work abstention, announce fresh programme

Secretariat employees suspended their work abstention today, but will continue their protest with a fresh programme demanding the repeal of the Public Service (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025.

As part of the ongoing movement, they have announced plans to submit memoranda to five advisers on Sunday and Monday.

After observing a one-hour work abstention today as per their previously announced schedule, the employees declared the next set of programmes.

Leaders of the movement also said that, for the time being, they would not carry out further work abstention.

Earlier, from Saturday to Tuesday, Secretariat employees staged demonstrations and observed continuous work abstention for four consecutive days to press home their demand to repeal the ordinance.

Following a meeting with five secretaries representing the government on Tuesday afternoon, the employees suspended their scheduled programme for Wednesday.

However, they resumed the one-hour daily work abstention from May 29, vowing to continue until the ordinance is scrapped.

Accordingly, they observed the one-hour work abstention from 10:00am to 11:00am on Thursday, after which the new programmes were announced.

Nurul Islam, co-chairman of the Secretariat Employees Unity Forum, told reporters at the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon, "We have heard that the chief adviser is expected to return to the country on Saturday. In that case, we hope to receive some positive news by Sunday. Still, we are not stepping back from our movement."

"We believe that the cabinet secretary, the public administration secretary, and other relevant officials will engage in discussions with the chief adviser upon his return and deliver a positive outcome. We are holding on to that hope," he added.

According to Nurul Islam, memoranda will be submitted on Sunday to advisers Ali Imam Majumder, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, and Syeda Rizwana Hasan.

On Monday, memoranda will be submitted to advisers Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain.

Field-level employees will also send memoranda to the cabinet secretary through the heads of their respective institutions and agencies.

Expressing hope for a breakthrough, Nurul said, "If we receive a positive response on Sunday, we will withdraw all programmes and celebrate Eid with the satisfaction of achieving a fruitful outcome."