The dismissed officers and employees of three private banks owned by the S Alam Group staged a protest by blocking the Chattogram-Cox鈥檚 Bazar highway on Sunday morning, demanding their reinstatement.
The demonstration, held in the Moijjartek area near Shah Amanat Bridge of Karnaphuli upazila at around 10:00am, caused a two-and-a-half-hours traffic gridlock on both ways of the highway. Normalcy returned after administrative intervention persuaded the protesters to leave the road.
The protesters, comprising former officials of Social Islami Bank Limited, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, and Union Bank, alleged they were unfairly terminated despite being recruited through proper process.
A dismissed SIBL officer said, 鈥榃e worked tirelessly over the past three months during the bank鈥檚 crisis to ensure its recovery. From morning to night, we gave our all efforts. But, we鈥檝e been terminated without justification. We demand our jobs back.鈥�
They claimed to have submitted a petition to the deputy commissioner of Chattogram and the chief adviser, with the warning of intensifying protests if their demands are not met.
Karnaphuli Police Station officer-in-charge Monir Hossain said, 鈥楾he terminated officials blocked the highway in demand of their reinstatement, causing severe traffic congestion. However, after persuasion, the situation came under control and traffic resumed.鈥�
The dismissals came in the wake of significant changes in the banking sector following the fall of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5.
Private banks were freed from the S Alam Group鈥檚 control, leading to the termination of at least 1,200 employees from Social Islami Bank, Islami Bank, and Union Bank in the recent months.