Talks fail with cargo movers in Chittagong, two more organisations join strike

Two more organizations have joined forces with striking Prime Mover-Trailers owners and workers as talks with the authorities failed in Chittagong to resolve matter.

The Prime movers placed a seven-point demands during the talks including revoking of the maximum freight cap and stopping harassment of its staff and workers at the weighbridges along Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. 

Chittagong District Road Transport Owners' Group and Bangladesh Road Transport Labour's Federation has said that if the demands are not met bySaturday, all forms of freight movement by road would be stalled from Sunday.

The declaration was made from the owners and labourers' side after Thursday’s talks with district administration and police with the striking Prime staff and owners failed in the evening.

However, Deputy Commissioner Shamsul Arefin said that the meeting was adjourned is failed to reach any consensus on the issue after hours of discussion.

Bangladesh Road Transport Worker's Federation Abu Musa told bdnews24.com that since the meeting failed to break the impasse, his organization has decided to stop all freight movements by road from Sunday.

To reduce the damage of roads, the authorities on Aug 16 imposed an upper limit on the maximum permissible load that a container carrying vehicle could tow.

Transport owners say while they have little to do about container weight, they are being fined Tk 2000 for every ton above the maximum permissible load of 33 tonnes.

The indefinite strike by Prime Mover-Trailer that enters its fourth day has clogged the Chittagong port with undelivered containers at the port.

Port member (administration) Jafar Alam told bdnews24.com that more than 40,000 containers remained undelivered on the yard that paralysed the porton Thursday.

"The port has a capacity to hold 35, 357 containers. The logjam has been created because the strike could not be resolved", he said.

Inland Container Depots Association secretary Md Ruhul Amin Sikder said, "Some 6,000 containers lie stranded at the port. Only 3,930 containers from private depots reached the port between 6 am Tuesday and 6pm Wednesday."

A total of 90% of the goods for export are brought to these private ports from where they are exported through Chittagong port, he informed.