Workers end water transport strike after a day of sufferings on southern routes

Water transport workers have called off a nationwide strike for an 11-point charter of demands, including a provision of appointment letter, ending a day of sufferings of passengers on the southern routes.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 Nov 2019, 06:04 PM
Updated : 30 Nov 2019, 06:15 PM

A few vessels left the Sadarghat terminal in the morning, but commuters in Chandpur and other districts were left to suffer the consequences of the strike called by Bangladesh Water Transport Workers’ Federation at 12:01am on Saturday.

AKM Mizanur Rahman, director general of the Department of Labour, sat with representatives of the association in the afternoon to find a way out of the situation.

Akhtar Hossain, a spokesman of the department, said the workers agreed to call off the strike after the government accepted all of their demands after the end of the meeting about 11:30pm.

The other demands of the workers included identity cards and food allowance.

Akhtar said the demand for food allowance for the workers will be implemented in March 2020.

Mustafizur Rahman, the helmsman of MV Mitali-4, said workers’ leaders informed him about the development.

A vessel docked at Dhaka's Sadarghat launch terminal amid an ongoing strike enforced by water transport workers on Saturday.

The workers have long been demonstrating over their demands, but the launch owners only gave assurances instead of meeting those, Shah Alam, president of the workers’ federation, earlier alleged.

Akhtar Hossain said the government in a meeting last Wednesday decided to include the workers’ appointment letter, identity card and service book in an annual survey checklist to monitor these.

The government has also decided in principle to provide the workers with food allowance.

The decisions would be implemented by March, 2020 through inter-ministerial meetings, Akhtar said.

Passengers in Barishal and other southern districts scrambled for alternative transportation due to the strike. Some people completed short-distance commutes on trawlers for exorbitant fares.

The work abstention programme also disrupted the loading and unloading of cargo from ships in the maritime ports.

Cargo ships, coasters and tankers remained docked in the port throughout the day.

The strike halted the unloading of 3.1 million tonnes of imported goods at the outer anchorage and jetties of Chattogram port as the lighter vessel workers also stopped working expressing solidarity with the strikers, halting the cargo handling at the port.