SM Mizanur Rahman :Workers of seven state-owned jute mills in Khulna on Tuesday threatened to continue their rail and road blockade programme if their demands are not met by today (Wednesday).They also sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention to implement their demands. The demands of the workers include adequate allocation for the jute industry, payment of their arrears, formation of a wage board and stopping the move to privatise the state-owned jute mills.If their demands are not met the situation would take a serious turn, they warned. They came up with the threat during a rail and road blockade programme yesterday, the second day of the agitation programme. Around 35,000 workers of the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agent) and non-CBA Oikya Parishad of the seven jute mills — Crescent Jute Mills, Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills, Khalishpur Jute Mills, Star Jute Mills, Eastern Jute Mills, Jessore Jute Mills and Carpeting Jute Mills — took position at Natun Rasta intersection, Rail Gate, Atra and Shiromoni areas of the city around 6:00 am and blocked Khulna-Jessore Highway and Jessore rail route.The agitating workers also laid a siege to the Dhaka-Jessore Highway by setting fire to tyres on the road and uprooting fishplates of railway truck at Natun Rasta intersection. As the blockade halted vehicular movement on the highway and train service on the rail route it has virtually paralysed the Khulna city. Train and bus services between the capital and 10 southeastern districts of Khulna division remained suspended due to the blockade programme causing untold sufferings to the people. “We will continue our blockade programme if our demands are not met by Wednesday. Earlier we had given an ultimatum to the government on March 16 to meet our demands by April 3. But the government did not pay heed to our call,” Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, convener of the Oikya Parishad told The New Nation on Tuesday. He warned that they would continue their road blockade programme from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm till April 7.Nonpayment of weekly salary and arrears are a major problem for workers. Wages are supposed to be paid after a week, but the mill authorities failed to do so.”We have not been getting our weekly payment since two months. How and in what way we will survive. We are passing an inhuman life. Our family members, especially children, are passing the worst days as we failed to feed them,” Hassan Ahmed, a worker of Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills Ltd told this reporter. The CBA and non-CBA Oikya Parishad of the seven jute mills enforced the strike from Monday morning.
