Dhaka, August 20 (V7N) – At a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity, the first batch of permanent staff in the Revenue Sector of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Directorate discussed ongoing challenges.

The officials expressed deep respect for Abu Syed and all the martyrs and injured soldiers from the anti-discrimination student movement. They offered heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery for the nearly seven thousand injured.

Currently, 169 of us are employed as the inaugural batch of ICT technical staff in the Revenue Sector of the ICT Directorate. Our careers began with the “Computer Training Program for 128 Educational Institutions in 64 Districts” launched by the Bangladesh Computer Council under the 2008 caretaker government. We were hired through competitive exams and started our roles. In 2011, we joined the “Basic ICT Skill Transfer Up to Upazila Level” and “BanglaGovNet” projects, also through competitive exams. Our hard work led to our transfer to the Revenue Sector to support and advance ICT initiatives, necessitated by the need to fill positions in a newly established department.

Although the transfer was initially suspended, the previous government approved it under Rules of Business, 1996, Rule 33. On July 7, 2015, the ICT Division sanctioned the transfer of 200 positions (2 Programmers and 198 Assistant Programmers) to the Revenue Sector, and the Directorate issued appointment notifications on July 8, 2015.

Unfortunately, despite approval from the Ministry of Public Administration, the Finance Division added conditions requiring a special SRO for regularization and seniority. Although recruitment policy stipulates that Programmer positions should be filled through promotion from Assistant Programmers, a direct recruitment notice was issued for these positions on May 22, 2016. Consequently, we have been denied promotion and had to file a writ petition with the High Court (Writ Petition No. 13532/2017) for regularization.

On January 27, 2019, the High Court instructed that our positions be regularized and the SRO be issued promptly. Despite the court’s directive and favorable legal opinions, further appeals and legal delays postponed the process. Although SRO No. 311-Law/2019 was issued on September 30, 2019, establishing regularization regulations, the effective date did not reflect the seven-year delay.

Finally, regularization orders were issued for 97 Assistant Programmers on February 1, 2023, 69 on October 26, 2023, and 1 Programmer on November 29, 2023. However, the effective dates of regularization were contested and manipulated, impacting our seniority negatively.

We have noted discriminatory practices, as Maintenance Engineers from the BanglaGovNet project were regularized based on their appointment dates, unlike our case. Although our salaries have been funded from the revenue budget and we have completed necessary training, regularization has been unduly delayed.

We denounce the intentional obstructions by some individuals aimed at hindering our regularization and benefiting themselves. We demand that our seniority be appropriately recognized, our regularization date align with our transfer date, and that retroactive promotions be granted.

We hope that the success of the anti-discrimination student movement will eradicate all forms of discrimination and honor the sacrifices of all martyrs and courageous soldiers.

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