SRTI employees not getting salaries for nine months

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Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, Mar 14: Employees and workers of Rajshahi Sericulture Research and Training Institute(SRTI) started work abstention and staged demonstration in the institute premises Wednesday from 11-00 am to 2-00 pm, demanding payment of nine months of arrear salaries and making their jobs permanent.
Some 125 master-role employees and workers of SRTI held meeting in front of the office of Director of the institute. During this time they also staged a sit-in programme and confined Director SM Abu Taleb at his office. Later on, being assured by the Director to fulfil their demands, they withdrew the sit-in programme.
The agitators said, salaries of 17 employees and workers of the same project was paid at Panchagarh and Rangamati but 125 of them working under master-role at SRTI, Rajshahi are not getting their salaries for last nine months. They blamed inefficiency and lack of initiatives of incumbent director for the long delay in payment of their salaries.
However, Toufa Haque, senior research officer of SRTI said, the salaries of master-role workers and employees remained suspended as no fund has been allocated against the new project. He also said the director was making contact with the high officials in Dhaka for releasing fund for the project immediately.