Secretariat employees confine Finance Adviser to office over allowance demand

Employees of various ministries on Wednesday confined Financial Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed inside his office in the Secretariat, demanding immediate issuance of a gazette notification for a 20 percent allowance.

The agitation began around 2:30 pm when 300–400 mostly non-cadre staff gathered on the fourth floor of Building No. 11 and later in front of the Finance Adviser’s office on the third floor of the Finance Division.

Chanting slogans through hand-held microphones, the protesters, led by Badiul Kabir, president of a faction of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers and Employees Joint Coordination Council, vowed not to leave until their demand is met.

The employees argued that while officers and staff of many other departments receive special allowances beyond their regular pay, Secretariat employees who often work late alongside ministers, advisers and secretaries are deprived of similar benefits.

The Financial Adviser remained confined for several hours as the protest continued into the evening.