DHAKA: Biman authorities eventually weathered a crisis through giving carte blanche to the agitating employees as they agreed to meet all the demands of the demonstrators.

As agreed, the new pay scale for the staff will be considered effective retrospectively from July 2009.

The decision came from a meeting between the board of directors of the national flag carrier and union representatives at Balaka Bhaban, the Biman headquarters, on Thursday afternoon in the wake of massive demonstrators for the last two days.

Pay Scale implementation Parishad leader and Engineers Association president ABM Aktaruzzaman also called off the siege programme with their demands now met.

Workers and employees of Biman Bangladesh started demonstration in front of Balaka building demanding revival of pension schemes and pay hike in line with the government-announced pay scale.

Biman company director Abul Kashem Ahmed told the waiting reporters outside the conference room of the Balaka Biman headquarters that the board will continue with the previous pension schemes.

“The pay scale will be adjusted as per new pay scale of the government employees announced in November last year,” he said.

Earlier, hundreds of workers took position at Balaka from 2:15 pm Thursday. At one stage, the squatting turned into a demonstration.

The agitating workers shouted slogans for resignation of Biman chairman Air Vice-Marshal (Retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed.

Earlier on Wednesday, the agitating employees confined the Chief Executive and Managing Director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Jakiul Islam, from 11 am to 5 pm demanding new pay scale and reintroduction of the pension system.

He was freed from a six-hour confinement after he pledged in writing to the agitating employees to arrange a pay hike for them.

The demands include stopping the implementation of pay scale approved on Saturday’s board meeting, canceling the decision on pension system and upholding the pension system according to 1988 rules, fixing Biman employees’ pay scale according to the pay raise percentage of 2009, implementing new pay scale from July 2009 and coordinating special allowance (interim relief) with new pay scale according to the decision of the 33rd meeting of the board of directors.

The managing director agreed to meet the demands without condition at Thursday’s board meeting.

BDST: 1800 HRS, SEPT 2, 2010