Officials from 25 different cadres will observe a nationwide full-day strike on Sunday, March 2, demanding the withdrawal of disciplinary actions against 12 colleagues over Facebook posts and an end to inter-cadre discrimination.
Muhammad Mofizur Rahman, coordinator of the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, announced the protest during a press briefing on Saturday, March 1, at the Agricultural Information Service conference room in Khamarbari, Dhaka.
"All services, except for emergencies, will be suspended," Mofizur stated. "If our demands are not met within a week, we will escalate our actions."
As part of the protest, officials will wear black badges and display banners outside their workplaces from 10:30 am to 11:30 am on Sunday. Initially, a half-day strike was planned for February 25, but it was postponed out of respect for National Martyred Army Day, following an ultimatum issued on February 24 that sought action by February 27.
Mofizur accused the Public Administration Reform Commission of favouring a "powerful group" at the expense of professionalism, warning that its recommendations could lead to "administrative fascism" and obstruct necessary state reforms.
He also criticized proposals that would sideline the education, health, family planning, and statistics cadres, arguing that such moves would drain talent from critical sectors. "Excluding mathematics from evaluation criteria undermines talent assessment," he said, while also condemning proposals to weaken judicial independence, abolish district councils, and impose an impractical provincial system.
The council's key demands include:
- Merit-based ministry allocations for all cadres
- Abolition of deputy secretary quotas
- Equal treatment across all cadres
- Retaining all cadres under a single commission
Reversal of suspensions for 13 officers penalized for social media activity—while administration cadre members faced no repercussions
Mofizur labelled these actions as "discriminatory" and an attempt to silence dissent. Among the council's additional proposals are renaming the Administrative Service as the "Land Management Service" and the Ministry of Public Administration as the "Ministry of Human Resource Management."
The press briefing, chaired by agricultural expert Md Arif Hossain, underscored growing discontent among Bangladesh's civil servants.
