However, the Padma Bridge Project Proposal (DPP) mentions that once the bridge is commissioned, experienced personnel will be required for maintenance and operation. In this case, it has been said to be permanent in this work with the present employees. In view of this, the 63 workers sent a letter to the bridge department last year requesting to retain their jobs. But so far their jobs have not been resolved.
At present, the total number of manpower in the Padma Bridge project is 95 except the employees and consultants of the contracting company. Of these, 32 are in senior positions including project director. They came from various government departments including Roads and Highways (RHD), Railways, Public Administration. When the project is completed, they will return to their respective departments. Many will retire from their jobs. Apart from this, there are 63 people including Assistant Director, Deputy Assistant Director, Accountant, Data Entry Operator, Driver, Office Assistant. If they do not transfer their jobs to the revenue sector, they will have to return home.
The Padma Bridge project was passed by ECNEC in 2006. After overcoming various complications, the work of the main bridge started towards the end of 2014. However, a lot of work has been started since 2006, including land acquisition and rehabilitation of the victims. The working age of those 63 employees is from 4 to 14 years.
According to the bridge department sources, the total salary of these workers was from Tk 2,400 to Tk 6,500 at the beginning. At present they are getting a maximum salary of 15 thousand to 35 thousand rupees depending on the position.
A senior official of the project, who did not want to be named , told Prothom Alo that there is a precedent for many project workers to retain their jobs. The capacity of the bridge department will be enriched if the job is made permanent considering their experience.
The date has not been fixed yet. However, the Padma Bridge is being launched next June - the authorities are quite sure about this. This is good news for the people of the south-west, for the people of the whole country. But those 63 workers think that opening the bridge means their job is over. They spend their days worrying about how to manage their family.
An office assistant who was hired in 2009 told Prothom Alo without revealing his name , "Everyone in the area knows that I work for the government. Married in a good house, educated girl. Have children. Now that he has lost his job, he has to be ashamed.
A lot of reassurance, no progress
The DPP of the Padma Bridge has been asked to keep 6 permanent workers in operation and maintenance after the commissioning of the bridge. Of these, 30 are officers and 57 are employees. The DPP mentions that these posts will be filled by those working in the project.
Shafiqul Islam, director of the Padma Bridge project, wrote a letter to the secretary of the bridge department on August 24 last year about the transfer of jobs of the 63 workers to the revenue sector. He said that the knowledge and skills acquired in the project need to be utilized in the country and their jobs need to be transferred to the revenue sector considering the humanitarian aspect. He requested to send a summary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for this.
In this regard, Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that the officials and employees of the project are engaged in full-time work at the risk of their lives even in the midst of the Corona epidemic. 63 people were recruited through competitive examination on the basis of merit. They have also crossed the age limit for entry into government service. In this situation, if their jobs are not included in the revenue, they will be harmed socially, family and financially.
According to sources in the Bridges Department, a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges in March 2020 recommended the transfer of the 63 workers to the revenue sector. The issue was also discussed at a meeting of the project's steering committee in July last year. Then in September, the government's implementation monitoring and evaluation department (IMED) report recommended that the jobs of these skilled workers be made permanent.
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