Staff Reporter :
Transport workers on Saturday announced a 48-hour strike from today morning to press home their eight-point demands, including cancellation of the provision of law rejecting bail prayer to the drivers for death in accidents and a fine of Tk five lakh as per the new Road Transport Act.
The strike begins from 6:00am of Sunday and it will continue till Tuesday 6:00am, said Abdur Rahim Box Dudu, Senior Vice-President of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation. The transport workers’ leader said it at a rally held in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city in the afternoon.
We are willing to discuss our demands with the government. If our demands are met, we will call off the strike, said Osman Ali, General Secretary of the federation. The rally started around 3:00pm on Saturday.
Several thousand transport workers from across the country participated in the rally that went on till 5:30pm.
The demands include making all offences under the Road Transport Act “bailable”, cancellation of the provision that allows a worker to be fined Tk 5 lakh for involvement in a road accident, changing minimum educational qualification required for getting driving licences from class-VIII to class-V, and stopping police harassment on roads.
On October 12, the federation, decided to go on a two-day work abstention from October 28 to press home their eight-point demands including amendments to the Road Transport Act, if their demands are not met by October 27.
Earlier, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said there is no question of amending the law within the tenure of the government as only few days are left of the last session of the parliament.
Obaidul Quader, who is also the General Secretary of the ruling Awami League (AL), said the law has been enacted after holding discussions with transport leaders for three years. “I have asked them to refrain from protests. The new government will take decisions if changes are required,” he added.
