Discontent has begun among the members of the Dhaka Mass Transit Authority (DMTL), which is currently involved in the MRT Line-6 project from Uttara to Motijheel.
According to government rules, the age limit for recruitment to the ninth grade is 30 years, and for children of freedom fighters and the disabled, it is 32 years. According to DMTCL sources, the company had set the age limit for four recruitments in the notification as 35 years. This has raised questions about the permanent employment of the officials recruited in accordance with government rules. The questionable appointments were made during the tenure of former Managing Director M A N Siddique.
An official, who did not want to be named, said that although the process of permanent employment of these recruits is currently underway, the jobs of those recruited in accordance with government rules have not been confirmed through competitive examinations. According to the Government Services Act, 2018, all recruitment processes of DMTCL are supposed to follow government rules, but this has been ignored.
On November 20, a party named ‘Directly recruited manpower through competitive examination in MRT lines under DMTCL’ submitted a memorandum to the advisor of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges. They have taken a stand against these recruitments. On the other hand, on August 14, the recruits also wrote to the chairman of the board of directors of DMTCL to make their jobs permanent.
According to relevant sources, the Finance Department and the Planning Commission have recommended making the jobs of 47 employees of the MRT Line-6 project permanent. Out of these, 22 are in the ninth grade. There were 141 posts approved in the revised manpower structure of MRT Line-6. Out of these, 58 posts were determined for direct recruitment.
According to DMTCL sources, manpower has been recruited through two types of notifications – special and general – to operate the lines under the company. However, the government policy was not followed in issuing general recruitment notifications.
According to the list available to Ajker, out of the 22 people recruited in the ninth grade, 15 joined on July 22, 2019. Their contractual recruitment started from July 22, 2021. The rest joined between 2019 and 2022. The contract started between 2021 and 2024, which will continue from 2026 to 2029.
An official, who did not want to be named, said that such recruitment notices can be issued only if the company’s service rules mention the age limit of 35 years. However, there was no approved service rule at the time of issuing the notice.
When asked about the job permanentization problem, DMTCL Managing Director Mohammad Abdur Rouf said on Saturday that a committee headed by Additional Secretary Md. Ashir Uddin Sardar has been formed to resolve this problem. The committee is listening to various demands of the officials. A decision will be taken after receiving their recommendations. A committee has also been formed on service rules, which will give its opinion within 60 working days.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Manzil Morshed said that if a government organization does not have its own service rules and if that organization makes appointments without following the government appointment rules, then that appointment can be considered illegal.
