Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has demanded that its staff and officials be included in the government’s Covid-19 compensation package, saying that they too are vulnerable to coronavirus transmission while discharging their duties during the pandemic.
Civil aviation and tourism ministry deputy secretary Anup Kumar Talukder has sent a demo official letter to finance division secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder in this regard.
The letter said, CAAB officials and staff are under civil aviation and tourism ministry. There are chances of them being infected with coronavirus as they come into close contact with air passengers from various countries.
Special flights, chartered flights, cargo airlines and emergency air transport have been operating from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport even during the government-announced general holidays, letter further read.
The government has fixed compensations at Tk 10 lakh for grade 1-9 officials, Tk 7.5 lakh for grade 10-14 officials and Tk 5 lakh for grade 15 and above officials -- if they are infected with coronavirus while performing their duties. The cash award under the compensation package would be five times higher if one dies of Covid-19.
But the staff under the ministry of civil aviation and tourism weren’t included in the compensation package. According to sources, more than 3,700 officials and employees are currently working under CAAB.
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