Dhaka, Dec 10 Health assistants in Bangladesh staged their sit-in for the 12th consecutive day on Wednesday outside the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), as they continued to press for a six-point charter of demands, a prolonged demonstration that has now begun to disrupt health services across several districts, local media reported.
The protest organised under the banner of the Bangladesh Health Assistant Association, which included health assistants, assistant health inspectors and health inspectors representing 26,000 frontline workers, observed full-day work abstention for the 12th straight day.
The six demands included amendments to recruitment rules, an end to salary discrimination, and the granting of technical status.
Fazlul Haque Chowdhury, Member-Secretary of the Association’s Central Coordination Committee, said that the protest would continue until the authorities issue the government order (G.O.) addressing their demands.
“Our file has already been sent to the Ministry of Public Administration. We hope the government will seriously consider the demands of frontline workers who serve the grassroots. Once the G.O. is issued, we will return to our workplaces,” Bangladeshi media outlet UNB quoted Chowdhury as saying.
The work abstention began on November 29 at the Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, and has since moved to the DGHS premises, with health workers across all districts joining the sit-in.
The health assistants have continued with their indefinite work stoppage after a meeting with the Bangladeshi authorities on November 30 ended without any breakthrough, Bangladesh's leading newspaper The Daily Star reported.
Following the meeting, Chowdhury said, “We will also spend the night here tonight. The health advisor had called us for a meeting, but he did not meet us. Rather, an additional and joint secretary heard our points but could not give any solutions. We will continue our work stoppage.”
Reports suggest that the ongoing protest forced the closure of around 120,000 temporary vaccination centres, preventing mothers and children from receiving vaccines, while rural health services have also been severely affected across the country.
Health assistants warned that if the crisis continues, mothers and children may face increased risks of infectious diseases.
Bangladesh has witnessed a surge in protests under the Yunus-led interim government as the country grapples with economic slowdown and deteriorating working conditions.
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