Staff Reporter :
Non-government teachers on Friday demanded cancellation of a government order of cutting additional four per cent from their salary for their contribution to the Welfare Trust and Retirement Benefit Board.
The non-government teachers under the banner of Bangladesh Shikkhak Union said this at a press conference in the capital on Friday.
They said that the government order was ‘illegal’ and the order should be scrapped by May 2.
We have urged the government to meet out demand. Otherwise, we will lay siege to the offices of Welfare Trust and Retirement Benefit Board,’ said the union President Abul Bashar Howladar.
We will also call for tough movement including shut down of all the educational institutions across the country,’ Abdul Bashar reminded.
The non-government teachers, who are not entitled to get retirement benefit
Unlike the government employees, currently contribute six per cent from their salaries to the Non-government Educational Institution Teachers-Employees Welfare Trust and Non-government Educational Institution Teachers-Employees Retirement Benefit Board.
They get back the money after their retirement along with some contribution from the government.
The Education Ministry on April 15 issued an order to raise the rate of contribution to 10 per cent, four per cent up from the previous rate, with effect from this April.
The Education Ministry order said that the additional four per cent cut was aimed at ‘speedy disbursement of their retirement benefit’.
Currently, around five lakh teachers and employees work in about 28,000 non-government educational institutions under monthly pay order or MPO.
Abul Bashar said, it was ‘quite an absurd argument’ in raising the contribution for speedy disbursement of payment after retirement.
He said, “The disbursement of the money takes even four to five years only for red-tape problem created by the bureaucrats. We cannot pay additional money for smooth disbursement of the payment.’
“It is a government obligation to make its clerical procedures smooth,” he added.
He alleged that the non-government teachers and employees face discrimination as they get 25 per cent of their festival allowance, Tk 1,000 for monthly house rent and Tk 500 for monthly medical bill.
‘We are already suffering a lot of discrimination and now the government wants to make our life and cost of living more painful,’ Abul Bashar said.
