Dismissed Islami Bank officials urge government intervention over 'unfair termination'
Over 4,500 officers claim dismissal without cause; accounts reportedly frozen after refusal to take ‘competency test’
More than 4,500 officers of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL), mostly from Chattogram, have urged the interim government to intervene in what they described as a discriminatory action by the bank after refusing to take a "competency verification test" announced by the bank's management in September.
At a press conference held at the Chattogram Press Club today (11 October), the dismissed officials also claimed their bank accounts have been frozen, leaving them unable to access their salaries and savings.
The dismissed officers appealed to the chief adviser of the interim government for intervention.
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"You are a son of Chattogram. Please stop this discrimination against the people of your own region. This is not the Bangladesh we hoped for after 2024's uprising," SM Emdadul Islam, one of the dismissed officials, said, addressing the CA.
The Engineer Abdul Khaleq Auditorium of the Chattogram Press Club was filled with former employees carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding reinstatement.
From the stage, SM Emdadul Islam read a written statement on behalf of the group.
"More than 4,500 of us have been terminated so far. All our accounts have been blocked. We're being treated like criminals for no reason," he said.
Emdad alleged that employees from Chattogram were being targeted deliberately.
"We are being branded as incompetent and politically biased. Some people are spreading propaganda to provoke conflict," he said.
He said the officers had submitted a six-point demand to the bank, including reinstatement and unfreezing of accounts, and waited a week for dialogue, but received no response.
"Neither Islami Bank management nor Bangladesh Bank contacted us. We've been patient, but we are running out of options," he said.
Termination after refusal to sit for test
The terminated officials said the bank's management had announced a special test to assess the competency of employees recruited after 2017.
However, when they arrived to sit for the exam, they found it was described as a recruitment test.
"We had already gone through recruitment to get our jobs. Why again? So, we refused to sit for it," said Tanzina Afroz, a former junior officer at the bank's Chowdhuryhat branch in Chattogram, who said she received a termination notice on 7 October and later found her salary account frozen.
According to the dismissed officers, thousands of employees received termination letters within days of refusing the test.
"I joined Islami Bank in 2019 through an open competition. I've always worked hard. I've received appreciation letters from both the zonal and the head offices. And now, after all that, I've been labelled unfit," she said.
She added, "We built this bank with our labour and loyalty. Now it's as if we never existed."
Many alleged that their salary and savings accounts were blocked immediately afterwards.
Background of the dispute
According to the officials, Islami Bank management announced the "competency verification test" in early September, asking officers recruited after 2017 to sit for a written exam to reassess their skills and qualifications.
Employees alleged that the exam, scheduled for 27 September, was not a performance evaluation but a recruitment test intended to remove a group of officers appointed during a previous board's tenure.
Roughly 95% of those called to sit for the test reportedly refused to participate. On 28 September, following the first batch of terminations, dismissed employees began silent protests at IBBL's regional offices in Chattogram, Khulna, and Dhaka.
As the number of dismissals grew, the terminated officials formed a coordination committee and organised demonstrations outside IBBL branches and the Chattogram Press Club.
Their six-point demand includes reinstatement, restoration of access to frozen accounts, and a formal apology from the bank's management.
IBBL authorities have not yet issued any public statement regarding the allegations.
