Finance adviser freed after 6-hour confinement following assurance to introduce 20% allowance for Secretariat staff
Despite the adviser's promise to issue a government order by 5pm tomorrow, the protesters demanded immediate issuance
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed was freed from his office with police assistance at 8:20pm after being confined for six hours by protesting Secretariat officials and employees.
The adviser assured the protesters that a government order introducing a 20% allowance would be issued by 5pm Thursday, fulfilling the protesters' primary demand.
An official from the finance adviser's office told TBS around 8:30pm, "Although the adviser promised the government order by 5pm tomorrow, the protesters refused to lift the confinement. They demanded immediate issuance. Around 8:15pm, police intervened and escorted the adviser out. Despite the presence of protesters, no obstruction occurred during the exit."
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The protest, unprecedented in scale for Secretariat allowance demands, involved 300–400 non-cadre officials and employees who arrived at the finance adviser's office on the third floor of the finance ministry around 2:30pm.
They blocked the office, chanting slogans through loudspeakers.
Although the adviser verbally accepted their demands after 5pm, the protesters refused to end the confinement until police intervention after 8pm.
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Previously, Secretariat employees' demands focused on ration facilities and dearness allowances. The current agitation escalated after the finance adviser declared that the government would not implement a new pay scale, prompting non-cadre staff to demand a 20% allowance.
An official from the adviser's office said, "After 6pm, the adviser met some representatives and promised an order introducing the allowance by 5pm Thursday. Still, protesters insisted on immediate issuance."
The official added, "As per rules, a summary of the government order must be sent to the chief adviser for approval. The summary will be prepared Thursday morning and, if approved by noon, the order will be issued by 5pm."
The protest began at Bat-tala, where non-cadre officials from various ministries gathered before marching together to the finance ministry. They occupied open spaces outside the adviser's office, blocked stairways and the elevator, and after half an hour of chanting, sat down in the corridor, effectively confining the adviser inside his office.
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Public administration expert and former additional secretary Firoz Miah told TBS that while Secretariat employees' demands may be reasonable, blocking a senior official is not appropriate.
"Each office has unique responsibilities, and employees often work beyond office hours for national events. Demands must be raised systematically. Using a blockade to enforce demands is not allowed under government service rules. Accepting such actions could trigger further instability and more similar demands," he cautioned.
He noted that the current situation reflects gaps in administrative leadership, as top officials failed to manage and contain the protest effectively.
"All categories of officials and employees working at the Secretariat are demanding a 20% Secretariat allowance. Staff of various other offices receive different types of allowances outside the pay scale, but we do not," said the personal officer of a secretary.
This is not the first time Secretariat officials have resorted to such action. Earlier, they confined the finance adviser while demanding the revival of the ration system for government employees.
On that occasion, the adviser had spoken with the protesters and assured them that their demands would be considered.
According to the Secretariat officials, the government had previously announced the introduction of a dearness allowance for public servants, but it was never implemented.
Subsequently, although a new pay commission was formed, the finance adviser has already stated that the current government will not implement its recommendations, said the officials.
