The government primary school teachers, in a major escalation of their ongoing protest, announced a nationwide work abstention beginning from Sunday (November 9), demanding urgent reforms in pay and promotion structures.

The decision was made at Central Shaheed Minar on Saturday afternoon, where hundreds of assistant teachers had gathered following a violent confrontation with police during a march toward Shahbagh.

On Friday, law enforcement used barricades, water cannons, tear gas shells, and sound grenades to disperse the demonstration. Several teachers sustained injuries, and at least two were temporarily detained, according to protest leaders.

“Our peaceful program was met with brutal force,” said Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, President of the Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association. “More than fifty teachers were injured. This repression will not silence us.”

Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge Khalid Monsur said that the march was halted to prevent demonstrators from approaching the residence of the Chief Adviser. He claimed police acted only after protesters attempted to break through security barriers.

“We issued multiple warnings,” Monsur said. “When they refused to stop and tried to breach the cordon, we took necessary measures to maintain order.”

The movement is centered on three key demands including salary fixation at Grade 10, full (100%) implementation of departmental promotions and automatic promotion after 10 and 16 years of service.

Teachers argued that being placed at Grade 13, below many non-teaching staff such as office assistants (Grade 12), reflects systemic undervaluation of the profession—both financially and socially.