The New Nation - Internet Edition

Mamunur Rashid

River transport workers started countrywide wildcat strike from Thursday midnight demanding higher wages, resulting in the suspension of water transport on major river routes and crowding road transports system.

Source said the lighterage vessels were also on strike since Monday.

The Deputy Director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Alamgir Kabir told The New Nation that the water transport workers went on strike convened by BWTWF since midnight Thursday demanding better wages.

However, the vice president of Bangladesh Water Transport Workers Federation (BWTWF), Shah Alam, said, "Water transport workers are observing the spontaneous strike, but the federation had no prior knowledge of the call."

Shah Alam said price of essentials have doubled and tripled in recent years but the water transport workers have not seen any pay rise and were still surviving on a meagre monthly wage of Tk 1,900.

"Launch owners seem oblivious to the needs and sufferings of the workers, which is why the strikers have put a stop to water transport across the country, the federation official said.

Officer in charge of Kotwali police said, "No launch has left from or arrived at Sadarghat launch terminal today, since the launch workers went on strike."

Elsewhere in the country no launches left the river ports in Barisal, Chandpur, Bhola or Patuakhali since midnight.

Our Barisal correspondent describes that the quay looked desolate after hundreds of passengers returned home failing to board any launch for their respective destinations.

Thousands of passengers remained stranded and huge quantity of goods piled in different launch terminals of the 78 inter-district routes in the country.

Crowd of passengers were seen in Railway Stations, bus stands and steamer ghats, as services of government-owned BIWTC and small engine boats were plying. Trawler rides on rough rivers and coastal routes in the stormy monsoon season have increased due to the strike risking the lives of the passengers.

The strike continued till filing of this report yesterday evening. Golam Mawla, Barisal district president and central vice president and Khorsed Alam, leader of launch owners association, said that negotiation meetings between the launch owners and workers were held yesterday noon.

The strike may be withdrawn at night, if the meeting between the two parties was successful, they hoped.

They said that launch owners have full sympathy for the workers and were ready to fulfill all legitimate demands according to their capacities.

“We have already agreed to increase 15 per sent salary against the government proposal of 20 per cent. But the workers were demanding 100 per cent increase in their salaries, which was beyond our capacity and business position,” one of the launch owners said.

“We hope the workers will also consider the worst business condition prevailing in water transport sector after the increase in fuel, maintenances, operations and management costs and adopt reasonable attitude about their demands and programmes,” he added.

Abul Hashem, general secretary and Eakin Ali, joint secretary of Barisal Noujan Sramik Samity (water transport workers association) said that they had participated in the joint meeting with Secretary of labour ministry, officials of sea transportation directorate and launch owners association on July 10.

After the failure of the meeting they declared the weeklong programmes of sit-in strike in front of launch owners and labour directorate offices, processions, handing of memorandum with ultimatum to launch owners and different administrative authorities.

At present a lascar, cook and sweeper receive Tk 1,900 per month, a Sukani and clerk Tk 2,100, third-class master Tk 2,800, second-class master Tk 3,300 and first-class master Tk 4,500 per month as salary, including all benefits.