Staff Reporter :
The indefinite strike in the country’s riverine routes continued for the third consecutive days on Thursday as strikers remained adamant to realise their demands, including enhance of their salaries.
Earlier in the day, a meeting between government officials and water vessel owners failed to get any solution to end the deadlock. To get a solution, the officials concerned of the Department of Labour sat with Vessel owners at Sramo Bhaban in the city to discuss the issue.
Officials said the meeting was called with a view to ending the ongoing deadlock situation in waterways transport where cargo transport is almost stopped at different rivers and sea ports.
Director of the Department of Labour SM Ashrafauzzaman said the owners have placed some proposals in the meeting. “At present, we are scrutinizing the proposals. We will sit with workers separately again to solve the problem,” he said.
On Wednesday night, the Department of Labour sat in another meeting with the workers on the same issue. In the meeting, the vessel workers’ leaders placed their 15-point demand, including hike of minimum wages.
Meanwhile, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan categorically blamed the vessel owners for the deadlock situation.
“It was planned to arrange a meeting between owners and workers where State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu was scheduled to be present. In the meeting, the workers’ leaders took part but the owners did not attend it. As a result, we did not get any fruitful result. It’s completely the owners’ fault,” the Minister said yesterday.
Official sources said the government had formed a committee headed by Secretary to the Labour Ministry following a strike called on April 24 by the vessel workers demanding to enhance their salary and wages. The concerned ministry also had fixed a salary structure. But two owners filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the government decision. Referring to the issue, Shipping Minister said: “Your [owners] earnings have increased, so the salary and wages of the workers must be enhanced.” He, however, expressed dissatisfaction for enforcing the strike by the workers without any notice.
On the other hand, the leaders of vessel workers said it was not a strike; rather it’s a work abstention.
But its impact was tremendous while all sorts of cargo and passenger vessels stopped plying from different southern districts, including Chandpur, Barisal and Bagerhat. Hundreds of passengers yesterday suffered due to shortage of launch. Besides, goods unloading at outer anchorage of Chittagong Port have remained suspended yesterday also.
Inspector [River Vessel] of Dhaka River Port Dinesh Kumar Saha yesterday said, “Only 22 launches arrived in Dhaka and only six launches left the terminal.’
President of River Vessel Workers’ Federation Md Shah Alam said the strike will continue until their demands are fulfilled. The launches those now running in the riverine routes are not linked with worker’s federation, he claimed.
The water transport workers went on indefinite work abstention across the country at 12:01 am on Tuesday to press home their 15-point demands including –a minimum monthly wage of Tk 10,000 for workers, increase in overtime pay, festival bonuses and other benefits, ensuring security and maintaining navigability on waterways.
