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Published : 08 Feb 2026, 10:40 AM
Workers protesting under the banner of the Chittagong Port Protection Struggle Council are continuing their indefinite strike to push for a four-point list of demands, including the cancellation of the lease of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to UAE-based DP World.
The port workers and employees suspended work inside the port from 8am on Sunday. All types of goods and containers were stranded at various jetties and product delivery activities were also halted.
No trailers or vehicles used for transporting goods have entered the port since the morning. According to the protesting labour leaders, operational activities inside the port have come to a standstill.
The protesters allege the administration is now adopting a different approach in an attempt to suppress the protest. A large number of police and Army personnel have been deployed at the port and its surrounding areas. They allege that two protest leaders have been detained.
Md Ibrahim Khokon, one of the coordinators of the protest group, told bdnews24.com that the strike has been ongoing since the morning and no work is being done anywhere.
Workers and employees are not joining work with full solidarity for the protest, he said.
Ibrahim claimed that the port authority is attempting to suppress the protests and that he had received word that two protesters - Shamsu and Mia and Abul Kalam Azad - had been taken away by law enforcement.
The port’s Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal unit had called for a work stoppage from Jan 31 to protest the decision to hand over management of the NCT’s operations to DP World. The protesters later continued the movement under the banner of the Chittagong Port Protection Struggle Council. The group launched an indefinite strike from last Tuesday.
Last week, Shipping Advisor M Sakhawat Hussain faced agitated workers and employees during a visit to the port. After a meeting with him, the leaders of the protest council suspended their strike for two days.
Then, at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, the leaders of the council announced they would continue their indefinite strike from 8am on Sunday. In addition to the suspension of the lease, the protesters are calling for the withdrawal of disciplinary measures taken so far against protesting employees, assurances that legal action not be taken against them, and the removal of the chairman of the port authority.
