Pry teachers’ hunger strike continues

At least 10 primary school teachers have fallen ill on the second day of their hunger strike against a 'discriminatory pay scale' at Dhaka's Central Shaheed Minar, reports bdnews24.com.

The Bangladesh Primary Assistant Teachers Union began the strike on Saturday, urging the government to reduce the difference in wages between trained head teachers and trained assistant teachers.

The teachers from across the country gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar say they will continue the strike until the difference is reduced by elevating trained assistant teachers to grade 12 under the wage board.

"There is a three-tier gap between the wage grades of assistant teachers and head teachers. We have been asking for an elevation for more than three years now," said Shahinur Akter, president of National Primary Assistant Teachers Foundation.

This gap prevails despite trained head teachers and trained assistant teachers having similar education qualifications of the, said Md Anisur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Primary Assistant Teachers Union. "The gap was not there until 1984," he said. "Now the trained head teachers get wages under grade 11 while we are paid under grade 14.

"It implies that the head teachers will start jobs with grade 12 while the assistant teachers will end with that. This means, after working for 16 years, assistant teachers will get Tk 11,300 a month under grade 12. This is inhumane."

Eight of the protesters - Siddiqur Rahman, Abu Taleb, Saleha Akter Mukta, Rafiqul Islam, Abdur Rahim, Ekhlasur Rahman, Firoze Alam, and Md Alauddin - were hospitalised at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Sunday.