Grassroots Administration Officers Also Demand Promotions
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Administrative Officers (AOs) and Personal Officers (POs) in the grassroots administration have demanded promotions and benefits similar to those enjoyed by their counterparts in the Secretariat. These officers, who work in the offices of Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners (DCs), and Upazila Executive Officers (UNOs), are seeking an upgrade of their salary scale from the 10th grade to the 9th grade.
On February 1st, their organization, the "Bangladesh Field Administration Administrative Welfare Association (BAMAPROKS)," submitted a formal application to the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration regarding these demands. The application, signed by the organization's president, S.M. Zahidul Islam, has been pending at the ministry for five months without any decision. This has sparked frustration and discontent among officers across the entire field administration.
While no responsible official agreed to speak publicly on the matter, several officers spoke on condition of anonymity. They stated that a committee led by an Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration has been formed to address these demands. The committee has already held multiple meetings. Although the proposal was sent to the Ministry of Finance for approval, it was returned. A thorough, meticulous analysis is currently underway to determine how to resolve the issue.
In the application submitted to the Public Administration Secretary, the justification for the promotion is outlined as follows: Administrative officers play a crucial role in implementing the overall activities of the government's field administration. They are responsible for local government and national elections, preparing and implementing Citizen Charters, executing the National Integrity Strategy, and other emergency duties. Despite performing these vital state responsibilities, there is no system or opportunity for their promotion. In contrast, Secretariat officers receive promotions at various stages, allowing them to develop their skills and demonstrate their competence, which subsequently enhances their financial and social status. Due to the lack of promotion opportunities for administrative officers in the field administration (at the divisional, district, and upazila levels), they are falling behind in every aspect.
The application further states that, as a result of administrative reorganization, lower-class posts within the organizational structures of various departments—including the Secretariat, divisional, district, and upazila administrations—have been upgraded to higher classes. At the upazila level, officers such as Family Planning Officers, Food Controllers, Project Implementation Officers, and Administrative Officers at the Prime Minister's Office have been reclassified from the second class to the first class. Additionally, Chief Assistants, Senior Assistants, and Budget Examiners in the Secretariat have been designated as Administrative Officers with second-class status. However, even after 54 years of independence, the fate of the administrative officers working in the field administration has remained unchanged.
When contacted regarding this issue, S.M. Zahidul Islam, President of BAMAPROKS, told Agamir Somoy: "There are 831 posts for us in the field administration, of which more than half are vacant. Last year's DC Conference included a medium-term decision (Decision No. 5) related to the Ministry of Public Administration, which stated that multiple 9th-grade posts should be created in district and upazila administrations, and these posts should be filled by promoting administrative officers. However, we are seeing no progress on that front." He further added: "Because employees working in the Secretariat receive promotions, they have the opportunity to become non-cadre Assistant Secretaries, Senior Assistant Secretaries, and Deputy Secretaries. We are deprived of these opportunities as well. We struggled through much negotiation to get the chance to become administrative officers. The resolutions of the 2018 and 2019 DC Conferences decided to upgrade the posts of administrative officers in the field administration to first class, but that decision has still not been implemented."
