Striking teachers refuse to do the job till demands met

The lists can not be prepared as school teachers, who did the voter enumeration earlier, refuse to do the job this time.

Data collectors and supervisors who prepare of the earlier voter list have been named 'assisting officers', election officials said.

Most of the data collectors and enumerators were teachers of government and non-government primary schools.

Assistant Registration Officer (ARO) and the Upazila Election Officer are supposed to appoint the 'assisting officers'.

Talking to this correspondent, many AROs said schoolteachers refused to work as enumerators to update the voter list.

Domar Upazila Election Officer Mahe Alam said he requested many school teaches but all of them refused. Some of them told him that there was an unwritten instruction to striking teachers not to do the job till the government accepts their demands, he said.

Nilphamari district general secretary of non-government teachers association Mozhar Hossain, when asked, cited a statement of Selim Bhuiya, chief co-ordinator of the School Teachers-Employees Council, in which he said striking teachers would not participate in the voter enrolment process unless their demands are not met.

Non-payment of their remuneration in full for preparation of the previous voter list by the Election Commission (EC) is another cause for their reluctance, he said.

Many teaches alleged that money was deducted from the 'poor' remuneration promised by the government.

Mahe Alam said, the EC has given directive to appoint voter enumerators from among staff of government, semi-government or autonomous bodies if teachers refuse to do the job.

Even officials and employees of Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank can be engaged in the work, he said.

The list of 'assistant officers' must be completed by July 20. Updating the voter list will start on July 21 and will be completed by August 10, as per the EC directive, he said.

An 'assistant officer' would be appointed for every 600 people. In preparation of the last voter list (now rejected), a data collector was appointed for every 400 people.

This correspondent tried to contact district election officer Faridur Rahman. He was not available as he went to Dhaka to attend a meeting at the Election Commission, sources at his office said.