NEW PAY SCALE
Primary teachers suspend protest
Teachers of government primary schools yesterday temporarily suspended their ongoing protest programme over the new pay scale after getting assurance from the authorities concerned that their demands will be considered.
The decision came after a meeting of the teachers representatives with Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman at his residence in the capital.
After the meeting, the teachers said the minister has assured them that their demands will be placed before the cabinet sub-committee on salary disparity during its meeting.
Though the teachers have been continuing a movement to press home their six-point charter of demands, including restoration of time scale and selection grade, they have now placed only one point to the minister demanding their salary and job designation be upgraded to grade-11 of the new pay scale.
We have got assurance from the primary and mass education minister that the salary discrimination with the headmasters will be resolved. The assistant primary teachers will get the grade just below the headmasters, Jahidur Rahman Biswas, president of Bangladesh Government Primary School Teachers Association, told The Independent.
The minister told us that he will inform the cabinet sub-committee about our demands. So we have temporarily suspended our programme, he added.
The minister said the government will consider the demands of the teachers and all their demands will be placed before the cabinet sub-committee for discussion.
