The permanent employees of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTC) who operate the metro rail service have given a deadline until February 20 to finalize the job regulations.
In a press statement on Monday, they announced that if the comprehensive job regulations are not formulated, the metro rail service will be suspended from February 21.
The release states that if the people of Dhaka are deprived of the metro rail service, the DMTC authority will be held responsible.
The announcement, made under the banner of 'Permanent Officers and Employees Appointed through Open Recruitment at DMTC', states that on September 12, Road Transport Advisor Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan instructed the formulation of comprehensive job regulations.
Accordingly, the DMTC Board’s 60th meeting decided that the regulations should be formulated within 60 days and sent to the Ministry of Road Transport. However, despite the passage of five months, the formulation of these regulations has not been done due to "mysterious reasons".
As a result, more than 200 local and foreign-trained skilled officers and employees have resigned due to the lack of comprehensive job regulations. This has raised concerns over the operation and maintenance of the metro rail.
The release further mentions that after a strong demand for the formulation of the regulations on February 13, the senior authorities of DMTC held detailed discussions on the draft job regulations until Monday.
The authorities have assured that the draft regulations will be revised, and a comprehensive set of regulations will be formulated through a board meeting.
In this regard, the Managing Director of DMTC, Mohammad Abdur Rouf, said they are working on the matter and the issue will be resolved soon.
He stated that the process of implementing the service rule has begun and is nearing finalization. A committee has been formed, and after their review, it will go to the board.
He acknowledged that the service rule should have been implemented by now, but its delay is a failure.
He further mentioned that the issue may not be resolved within the next three days but assured that they are in discussions and the process will take the time needed to complete the job regulations.
