Teachers protesting the cancellation of the Universal Pension Scheme will meet with Awami League General Secretary and Minister of Bridges Obaidul Quader on Thursday morning.
Prof Dr Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan, general secretary of the Bangladesh University Teachers Association Federation and president of the Dhaka University Teachers Association, confirmed this information on Wednesday.
He said: "Quader had initially scheduled a meeting with us for Wednesday evening. However, he later rescheduled it for Thursday morning."
When asked if the sit-in program would continue, he said: "Our comprehensive movement will persist until our demands are met."
The indefinite strike by teachers and employees of public universities continues for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, demanding their exclusion from the Prottoy pension scheme.
The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers Association called for a boycott of classes, examinations, and administrative work starting Monday, protesting the implementation of Prottoy, a new pension scheme introduced by the National Pension Authority.
The announcement was made during a press conference on Dhaka University campus.
The Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA) also issued a notice to the university’s teachers.
As a result, all classes and exams, including regular, evening, professional, online, and offline programs, have been suspended at public universities nationwide.
This includes institutions such as Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong University, Rajshahi University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Jagannath University, Jahangirnagar University, and Khulna University.
In addition to academic activities, administrative offices, including chairman offices, hall provost offices, research centers, institutes, the central library, dean offices, computer labs, and seminar rooms, remain closed.
Under the banner of Officers-Employees Oikya Parishad, DU officers and employees have called for a strike and protest program, demanding the cancellation of what they called a discriminatory notification related to the Universal Pension Scheme.
Employees and officers of other public universities have also joined the strike.
The Universal Pension Scheme, which was introduced on August 17, 2023, included four schemes: Prabash, Pragati, Surokkha, and Samata.
The Prottoy scheme was later introduced specifically for officers and employees of all autonomous and state-owned organizations.