“Statement of Position of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board Regarding the Ongoing Movement of the Dismissed Officers/Employees of the Palli Bidyut Samiti”
a) The matter of a unified service code and integration between the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) and the Palli Bidyut Samitis (PBS) is a government/state-level decision. It is not under the jurisdiction of the BREB or the head of the organization. Any decision made by the government in this regard shall be considered final. No activity that disrupts office discipline or holds respected customers hostage over this issue will be tolerated.
b) In order to provide various justifiable and resolvable benefits to the officers and employees of the Palli Bidyut Samiti, regular monthly exchange meetings are being held. Each Samiti is being visited, and sincere meetings are being conducted with all its officers/employees to understand their legitimate demands and take prompt steps toward solutions. This is a reformative and positive ongoing process.
c) On October 17, 2024, several miscreant officers/employees were arrested under charges of sedition for creating a nationwide blackout, causing a power crisis for the valued customers and destabilizing the state. These individuals were sent to jail and, after being released on bail, resumed similar activities, posing a threat to the 35 million customers. Notably, one patient died in a hospital in Netrokona due to a lack of oxygen caused by the conspiratorial blackout, which is deplorable.
d) To enhance the benefits of officers and employees working in PBS, their weekly holidays have been increased from one day to two days. A special 5% incentive has been implemented effective from July 1, 2023. Additionally, a recommendation to provide electricity bill benefits up to 400 units for PBS officers/employees has been submitted to the Ministry.
e) A total of 4,723 Level-1 Linemen included in the organizational structure of PBS have been regularized against vacant posts. 1,302 Billing Assistants, previously working on a “no work, no pay” basis, have been given on-entry appointments. The contract period for line workers has been extended from 6 months/1 year to up to 2 years. Meter readers now have a 3-year contract and may remain in one location for 4 terms (12 years), instead of the earlier 3 terms (9 years). Additionally, 68 officers/employees have been mutually transferred as per their applications. Measures are also underway to ensure placement or transfer of the spouses of PBS employees to the same or nearby workplaces.
f) As part of state-run institutional reform, the reshuffling of officers/employees in various positions within BREB and PBS is a regular, reformative process.
g) Activities such as fundraising, organizing/participating in meetings and gatherings, and spreading misinformation via Zoom meetings with the intent of disrupting the rural electrification program fall under gross misconduct, as per the “PBS Employee Service Regulations 1992 (Amended 2012).”
02. Recently, the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board has taken the following initiatives to improve interrelations:
a) All officers/employees of BREB and PBS have been directed to operate with the mentality of “We,” not “I” or “They,” and to ensure customer service by maintaining honesty, discipline, transparency, accountability, and adherence to the chain of command.
b) On September 4, 2024, relief materials were distributed to flood victims in Burichang upazila under Comilla PBS-2 and Parshuram upazila under Feni PBS, through the joint efforts of BREB and PBS officers/employees.
c) A committee has been formed to provide financial assistance to the families of PBS officers/employees in the event of death during service, including covering funeral/cremation expenses.
d) Monthly exchange meetings are being held at BREB to address various legitimate problems faced by PBS officers/employees.
e) A committee has been formed to assess the adequacy of linemen based on the number of customers and distribution lines of each PBS office, and to address demands for tools and other materials required by linemen.
03. Although the Power Division, BREB, and PBS have already provided various justifiable benefits to PBS officers/employees, certain individuals within the PBS continue to carry out unreasonable actions regularly in pursuit of personal interests, thereby obstructing customer service. Despite all these benefits, as part of a conspiracy, a “March to Dhaka” program has been declared for May 21, 2025.
Through this program, they are trying to hold customers hostage in order to force unreasonable demands. This appears to be a deliberate attempt to destabilize a successful state-owned and customer-service-oriented institution like the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, and also to disrupt the interim government formed through a student-public uprising. Such attempts are completely unacceptable.
04. In this context, with a view to ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to 140 million people of Bangladesh and keeping the country’s economy active, the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board and the Palli Bidyut Samitis are determined to successfully lead the rural electrification program with integrity, dedication, sincerity, mutual cooperation, and by strictly adhering to service regulations.
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