Permanent officials and employees of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) have warned that metro rail services will be suspended starting February 21 unless a comprehensive employment policy is formulated by the authorities.
This warning was issued through a press release on Monday, attributed to a group of employees hired via the DMTCL’s direct open recruitment process.
According to the statement, on February 13, the permanent workers demanded the creation of these service regulations. Subsequently, DMTCL’s higher authorities discussed a draft of the rules in detail until Monday, assuring that they would amend the document and finalize it through a board meeting soon.
The release further stated that the 60th board meeting of DMTCL had decided that the rules should be formulated within 60 days and sent to the Road Transport and Highways Department. However, despite five months passing, the service rules have not yet been finalized.
The statement highlighted that over 200 skilled officials and employees, trained both locally and internationally, have resigned, causing concerns that the metro rail’s operation and maintenance could be jeopardized.
Therefore, the group has warned that if the service rules are not finalized within the next three working days—by February 20—metro rail services will be halted from February 21.
The group emphasized that if Dhaka residents face disruptions in metro rail service, the responsibility will lie with the DMTCL authorities.
DMTCL Managing Director Mohammad Abdur Rouf informed bdnews24.com on Tuesday morning that the issue is being addressed and will soon be resolved.
“The process to introduce service rules has commenced, and they are on their way to being finalized. A committee has been formed, and once they review it, it will be presented to the board.”
“The service rules should have been introduced by now, but it hasn’t happened yet. It is a failure. It might not be completed within the next three days, but we are in talks with them. There’s a process involved, and it will take as long as necessary to finish. The service rules will be implemented.”
