Noman Mosharef :
About 1, 134 employees of the Election Commission’s (EC) Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) project’s data entry operators are in fear of losing jobs.
They are now working at IDEA project head office, EC’s local, district and upazilla level office as voter registration, correction and shifting of National Identity Cards (NID), reserving of office documents and assisting for using Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) used in different elections.
On the contrary, EC promised several times of making permanent the data entry operator’s jobs. But EC has not taken any decision on the issue.
The data entry operators had applied through EC’s local officials known as Thana/ Upazilla Nirbachan Officer urging to include them in the revenue sector. Even so, they did not get EC’s nod on the issue as the project almost closes to end.
Besides, government wants to shift NID- related service to the Security Services Division under the home ministry which makes its employees fear to lose their jobs.
The employees have submitted a written statement to the EC Secretary say that they will sit on the street with their families if they lost the job.
According to a letter sent to the Senior District Election Officer of Sylhet on November 26 last year, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda visited the Jaintapur Election Office in Sylhet.
During the inspection, it was suggested to take necessary steps to include the main structure of the data entry operators who are working in the server station. The concerned officer sent a letter to the senior secretary of the EC, the Director General of the NID Wing to take necessary action in that regard.
Similarly, district and upazila election officers across the country have also sent applications to the EC Secretariat to secure the jobs of data entry operators working in their respective offices and to include them in the revenue sector.
EC officials said that every step of creating a modern bio-information rich database requires data entry operators and members of the technical team. Every year the EC conducts updating activities of the election office with this manpower.
In the beginning of March 2016, out of those who have worked for the EC in the past, 1,130 people were recruited for the post of data entry operator for one year through written, practical and viva examination.
Thereafter their tenure is extended by one year subsequently. Thus, they have been working in the election office on outsourcing basis on a full-time basis for a long time. Many have already reached the age limit for employment. If the EC job is not permanent, they will not get a chance to get a job anywhere else.
