The diploma engineers announ-ced the decision at a press conference arranged by the Coordinating Council of the Bangladesh Diploma Engineering Students, Teachers and Professionals at Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) at Kakrail.

The diploma engineers have been staging demonstrations demanding the government to eschew retrenchment of as many as 750 engineers from different state-owned enterprises including Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) and Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC).

Their four-point demand includes a stop to squeezing the sizes of state-owned power sector, the BADC, BJMC, BCIC, Railway, Roads and Highways and BTTB, eliminating wages discrimination, and saving technical education.

The diploma engineers urged the government to meet their demands by October 8.

Md Kabir Hossain, member-secretary of the Coordination Council, read out a statement, which expressed deep frustration at long-lying vacancies to the posts of principals in 18 out of 20 polytechnic institutes in the country.

He criticised the restructuring policy being pursued in the BADC, noting that the government is shedding staff at field levels, keeping a top-heavy staff-structure in the head office in the capital.

Diploma engineers criticised selling out of jute mills rendering thousands of workers jobless, while new jute mills are being set up in neighbouring India. When 25 ministers would suffice to run the government in Bangladesh, a jumbo-size cabinet is in to the waste of public money, they alleged.

The country now meets the demands of certain chemicals through import from India, as eight industries under the BCIC were closed down, they said.

The diploma engineers announced a series of programmes starting from today to realise their demands. Their demonstrations will end on October 8 through a human-chain from 11:00am to midday in the city.

Their other programmes include holding exchange of views with the trade union bodies, federating body of workers, SKOP, submission of memorandum to the prime minister, lawmakers and deputy commissioners and formation of human chains in the districts.

IDEB General Secretary A K M A Hamid and the Coordination Council's Convenor Khandakar Nur-e Alam were, among others, present at the press conference.