Public varsity teachers observe strike for 4th straight day

Public university teachers and employees, including Dhaka University (DU), observed work abstention for the 4th consecutive day on Thursday demanding their exclusion from the "Prottoy" scheme under the Universal Pension Scheme.
As a result, all the activities of DU, including classed and examinations, remained suspended.
President of Dhaka University Teachers' Association (DUTA) Professor Dr Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan said, "Today's (Thursday's) meeting of teacher leaders with Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader over the issue has been suspended. The minister will inform us about the meeting tomorrow (Friday).
JU correspondent reports: Teachers at Jahangirnagar University (JU) continued their strike for the fourth day on Thursday, insisting on the withdrawal of the 'Prottoy Scheme' under the Universal Pension Scheme for all the university teachers and employees.
The ongoing protest over the issue led to suspension of all academic activities, including classes and exams, at the university.
The JU Teachers Association (JUTA) held an hour-long sit-in programme starting at 12 noon in front of the Social Sciences Faculty building. The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association (FBUTA) is leading the protest programme nationwide in support of a three-point demand that includes dropping the public university teachers from the Universal Pension Scheme, incorporating them in the super grade, and introducing a separate pay scale for them.
JUTA secretary Professor Shahed Rana told the FE that their strike and one-hour sit-in were observed as planned.
He said that their scheduled discussion with Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader did not take place, so their demands remain unmet.
The movement will continue until the federation decides otherwise, he added.
JUTA president Professor Motaher Hossain, told, "Our previous programme will continue. Leaders of the teachers' associations of Dhaka University, Jagannath University, BUET, and Jahangirnagar University, along with the FBUTA president, waited for the meeting with the road transport and bridge minister, which was later declared suspended."
On May 20, FBUTA held a press conference demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Universal Pension Scheme for university teachers and the continuation of the previous pension scheme. Since then, they have gradually intensified their movement. From July 1, public universities commenced a complete strike, leading to a deadlock in the universities' academic activities.

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