CHITTAGONG, Jul 23: Lighter vessel workers were scheduled to start their indefinite strike from Sunday midnight, amid heavy congestion of cargoes at the seaport here.
Two associations of the workers-Nou Paribahan Shramik Federation and Nou Shramik Union-took the decision about enforcing the strike at their recent meeting to press home their 21-point charter of demand.
The workers discharge cargoes from the lighter vessels at different stations across the country and a part of the cargoes are destined for different production units.
The seaport has been suffering from severe congestion of vessels and containerised cargoes for the last few weeks due to heavy rain.
The cargoes were being discharged at slower pace from the jetties at the port and outer anchorage in the deep sea.
The businesses expressed concern over the logjam of containers, hindering production in factories and disrupting shipments of export cargoes, especially the readymade garments.
The trade body leaders expressed the fear that the situation would get worse due to the 'so-called' strike.
President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Mahbubul Alam said the strike called at this stage of critical business atmosphere would only deteriorate the situation. "There cannot be any logical ground of this strike now."
He, however, urged the authorities concerned to negotiate with the workers' leaders for finding out a solution to the problem. Md Abu Taher, president of Chittagong Lighter Vessel Shramik Federation, said they have long been urging for meeting their 21-point demand as assured earlier by the vessel owners as well as the government.
The demands include issuance of appointment letter, ID cards, service book, release of 16 workers detained in Bangladesh and India, payment of outstanding wages and benefits as per the gazette of the government-declared minimum wages.
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Source: The Financial Express