Metro Rail Passenger Services Halted from Friday

In accordance with their pre-announced ultimatum, the regular officials and employees of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) have declared a full-scale work stoppage and suspension of all passenger services starting at 7:00 AM on Friday (December 12).

This decision comes after the company failed to formulate and publish a self-sufficient service rules (job-by-laws) by the December 9 deadline.

The employees also announced that they will hold a peaceful demonstration daily in front of the DMTCL main office. This information was conveyed via a press release on Wednesday (December 10).

Despite DMTCL being established 12 years ago in 2013, a separate and final service rules document has yet to be finalized for the company’s more than 900 officials and employees.

Employees who joined through open recruitment since the start of commercial operation of the Metro Rail on December 28, 2022, complain that despite working day and night, they are being deprived of various fundamental benefits, including leave, CPF (Contributory Provident Fund), gratuity, shift allowance/overtime, and group insurance.

It is reported that although the Service Rules were supposed to be formulated within 60 working days as per the Advisory Committee’s instruction on September 12, 2024, this was not implemented.

Later, when employees launched a movement on February 13, 2025, the authority assured them on February 20 that the Service Rules would be finalized by March 20. 

However, as this promise was also not fulfilled, intense resentment has built up among the employees over the last nine months.

In a meeting with employees on December 10, the Managing Director stated that while the Board of Directors agreed on all clauses of the Service Rules, the Chapter XI concerning 'Special Provisions' remains an obstacle.

This 'Special Provision' involves the controversial issue of assimilating manpower from Metro Rail projects into DMTCL, which employees claim contradicts the prevailing laws of Bangladesh and rulings of the Supreme Court.

Employees allege that although the Board of Directors is willing to exclude the disputed provision, the publication of the Service Rules is being delayed due to pressure from the DMTCL authority.

Deadline Missed, Work Stoppage Announced

As the Service Rules were not published by the December 9 deadline, the employees declared that if the rules were not formulated even by December 11, a full-scale work stoppage would be observed, and passenger services would be completely shut down starting 7:00 AM on Friday, December 12.