Promotion Protest at Four State-Owned Banks

Dhaka: Officers and employees of the four state-owned commercial banks—Sonali, Rupali, Janata, and Agrani—held a demonstration on Saturday (31 January) at the National Press Club, demanding fair and timely promotions. The participants voiced concerns over prolonged stagnation in promotion processes, which they claim has fostered frustration, perceived inequity, and professional uncertainty among bank staff.

The protest was organised to highlight grievances arising from a directive issued by the Financial Institutions Division (FID) on 14 October last year. According to the circular, regular promotions were to be suspended until all supernumerary promotions were fully recognised or reconciled. Despite banks submitting reports on the reconciliation of supernumerary promotions on 15 October, demonstrators say there has been no tangible progress in regular promotions.

Speaking at the event, staff representatives argued that supernumerary promotions do not legally conflict with regular promotion procedures. “In other government and autonomous institutions, supernumerary promotions exist without halting regular career advancements. The suspension of promotions in state-owned banks under the pretext of ‘reconciliation’ is discriminatory and unacceptable,” they stated.

The protesters emphasised that promotions for 2024 should be granted based on vacant positions in each bank and in accordance with their internal promotion policies, using 31 December 2024 as the cut-off date. They asserted that no directive or policy issued in 2025 can lawfully deprive staff of their 2024 promotion entitlements.

Furthermore, they called for supernumerary promotions to be reconciled in three phases following the approval of the banks’ new organograms, and demanded a second round of regular promotions based on the 31 December 2025 cut-off. Each promotion, they stressed, should take effect from 1 January.

Concerns were also raised regarding specific clauses of the State-Owned Commercial Banks’ Promotion Policy–2025, which demonstrators say undermine employee rights. They urged revisions or the formulation of a fair, practical, and non-discriminatory policy modelled on Bangladesh Bank guidelines, to take effect from 1 January 2026, explicitly rejecting any retroactive implementation.

The key demands presented at the protest can be summarised as follows:

The demonstration was led by Md. Motaher Hossain, who spoke on behalf of the officers and staff. A large contingent of employees from all four banks attended, calling for urgent action from authorities to restore regular promotion processes and ensure a fair career progression framework.