Officials and employees of the Palli Bidyut Samity (PBS) have launched an indefinite mass leave starting Sunday. They’re pressing four major demands: end job discrimination, cancel forced dismissals and transfers, reinstate removed staff, regularize irregular workers, and hold corrupt officials accountable.
In a press conference at Dhaka’s Reporters Unit, PBS Association’s Co-Office Secretary Anju Rani Malakar said multiple assurances from the Power Ministry had gone unfulfilled. Instead, protesting employees faced punitive dismissals, transfers, and harassment—fanning widespread discontent.
Their four-point demand includes:
- Issue an ordinance to unify REB-PBS or form a company-like structure; regularize contract staff; withdraw cases and reinstate dismissed employees; implement transfer recommendations from Power Ministry-formed committee.
- Cancel dismissal orders issued since August 17 and reinstate affected employees.
- Set proper shifts for emergency line workers; reinstate five altered staff who missed duties due to protests.
- Take administrative and legal actions against corrupt officials within the Rural Electrification Board.
Since early 2024, nearly 40,000 PBS officials nationwide have staged widespread protests—signature campaigns, human chains, sit-ins, and marches—demanding equal employment terms and permanent status. In May 2025, a sit-in at central Shaheed Minar entered its seventh day, with calls for the REB chairman’s removal, unified service rules, and a merger between PBS and REB.
The government has branded the protests “undesirable,” asserting that the organizers represent only certain factions and have established committees led by BRAC University’s vice-chancellor to review reforms ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Protesters, however, rejected the government’s eight-point plan—calling it superficial and not aligned with their seven-point demands.
Despite repeated protests and dialogues, the lack of meaningful progress has deepened PBS employees’ distrust. This isn’t just a labour dispute—it’s a quest for structural reform, justice, and dignity in Bangladesh’s rural power sector.
