The government has temporarily suspended 14 secretariat employees who staged a protest demanding the 20 per cent ‘secretariat allowance’.
The notifications of suspension were issued by the respective ministries on Monday.
According to the relevant ministries, the suspension follows the acceptance of a chargesheet against the employees by the court, in line with regulations.
The protest began on 10 December when non-cadre officials and employees, led by members of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers-Employees Joint Council, confined Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in his office at the Finance Division of the Finance Ministry for nearly four hours.
Despite government assurances to address their demands, the protest continued the following day, prompting law enforcement authorities to detain the leaders.
They were later remanded under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Act.
Among those suspended are Badiul Kabir, president of the Secretariat Officers-Employees Joint Council, vice president Shahin Golam Rabbani, and Nazrul Islam.
Other suspended employees include Md Tayeful Islam, Bikash Chandra Roy, Islamul Haque, Md Mohsin Ali, Roman Gazi, Abu Belal from the Health Ministry; Mizanur Rahman Sumon from the Information Ministry; Kamal Hossain and Mohammad Alimuzzaman from the Public Administration Ministry; Bipul Rana Biplob from the Finance Ministry; and Nasirul Haque from the Cabinet Division.
