Hopes of metro rail resuming operations soon received a boost today as employees of the popular transit service, who have been observing work abstention since August 6, have joined work.

Employees from grade 10 to 20 returned to work after the board of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL) last night agreed to their demand of pay hike, two officials told this correspondent.

The Daily Star could not reach board Chairman Md Ahsanul Haque, also the senior secretary of road transport and highways division and MAN Siddique, managing director of DMTCL, for comments over phone.

Talking to The Daily Star on Sunday, MAN Siddique said they would require five days to complete all necessary tests including trial run once the employees join work.

Operations of metro rail have been suspended since July 18 after two stations were vandalised during the quota protests, which later turned into an uprising that toppled the Hasina-led government on August 5.

On July 19, attackers vandalised two metro stations -- Mirpur-10 and Kazipara.

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Metro rail operations must be resumed without delay

The government directed DMTCL on August 11 to complete necessary technical checks within seven days to resume services at all but the two vandalised stations.

On the same day, the advisory council of the interim government decided to resume metro rail services on August 17.

But, DMTCL, in a press statement on August 15, said it would not be possible to resume operations as per plan as they could not start necessary technical checks due to an unavoidable situation.

Although the DMTCL did not state any reason in the statement, sources said the authorities failed to start the trial runs due to the ongoing work abstention by a group of DMTCL employees.

Around 700 of the DMTCL employees of grades 10 to 20 have been on work abstention since August 6 to press home their six-point demand, including pay hike.

The agitating employees said while DMTCL employees from 1st to 9th grade earn 2.3 time the national pay scale, employees from 10th to 20th grade earn only twice the pay scale. They want this "discrimination" to be removed. They also demanded the authority to pay the dues caused due the discrimination.

The DMTCL's board held a prolonged meeting last night and at one stage of the meeting called representatives of the agitating employees to the meeting, sources said.

"The board agreed to give us 2.3 times more than the pay scale and formed a committee to discuss with the finance ministry regarding the dues. So, we decided to withdraw our work abstention from today and our colleagues have already joined works," one of the employees, wishing not to be named, told this correspondent today.

Another top official said the staffers under his team also joined the work.