Health assistants' sit-in enters 12th day as pay, status dispute deepens

Health assistants continued their sit-in yesterday (9 December) in front of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for the 12th consecutive day, pressing for amendments to recruitment rules, removal of salary disparities and recognition of their technical status.

Hundreds of health assistants filled the DGHS premises in Mohakhali with protest chants, accusing the authorities of decades of deprivation and repeated breaches of commitment.

On 7 December, health assistants from across the country held a daylong protest at the DGHS and later announced an extended sit-in in Dhaka with representatives from all 64 districts.

From 10am today, health assistants, assistant health inspectors and health inspectors — under the banner of the Bangladesh Health Assistant Association, representing 26,000 frontline workers — continued their full-day work abstention for the 12th straight day.

Their six-point demand includes: amending recruitment rules to require a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and upgrading the post to Grade 14; granting Grade 11 and technical status to those who completed the in-service diploma; ensuring higher grades through sequential promotions; including all health assistants and inspectors in the graduate pay scale without requiring additional training; adding previously obtained time scale or higher scale benefits during pay scale revision; and granting equivalency recognition to those who completed the in-service diploma (SIT).

The demonstrators said they never intended to disrupt essential health services at the grassroots level, but after 27 years of unfulfilled promises and no progress, they were 'left with no choice' but to intensify their agitation.

They alleged that DGHS officials repeatedly forwarded 'incorrect information' to the ministry, causing the file to be returned multiple times. They also claimed that the original government order (GO) issued in 1985, which created the post of health assistant, has gone 'missing' from DGHS records.

Around 2,200 health assistants who completed the SIT diploma said their qualification still remains unrecognised.

They reiterated their demands for Grade 14, Grade 11 with technical status for diploma holders, recognition of equivalency, inclusion in the graduate scale, and structured promotion pathways.

Health assistants play a key role in primary healthcare — conducting household visits; registering births and deaths; registering pregnant women and newborns; identifying tuberculosis patients; supervising DOTS medication; and organising courtyard meetings and mother gatherings.

Despite these responsibilities, they said they receive just Tk600 as travel allowance and a basic salary of Tk9,700, while officials who once ranked below them have since progressed far ahead in grade and pay.

Fazlul Haque Chowdhury, Member-Secretary of the Association's Central Coordination Committee, said the sit-in would continue until the government issues the GO resolving their demands.

"Our file has already been sent to the Ministry of Public Administration. We hope the government will seriously consider the demands of frontline workers who serve the grassroots. Once the GO is issued, we will return to our workplaces," he said.

The work abstention began on 29 November at the Shaheed Minar before shifting to the DGHS premises, drawing participation from health workers across all districts.

Due to the ongoing protest, around 120,000 temporary vaccination centres remain closed, forcing mothers and children to return without receiving vaccines. Rural health services have also been severely disrupted.

Health assistants warned that unless the crisis is resolved soon, mothers and children may face higher risks of infectious diseases.