Petrol pump-tank lorry owners suspend strike

FE Team | Published: May 10, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
Petrol pump owners and tank lorry workers-owners Sunday suspended their scheduled indefinite strike for a month after the government agreed to implement their 13-point demands.
The strike suspension comes after a meeting between the government and Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners and Tank Lorry Workers-Owners Unity Council, a newly formed combined body of petrol pump owners and tank lorry workers-owners, at the energy ministry in the afternoon.
Energy adviser Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and state minister for energy and power Enamul Huq were present in the meeting.
The trade union action comes to an end on the very first day of the nationwide strike, as the government accepted four of their demands and gave assurance to fulfil the rest within a month.
The four demands accepted include issuing arms licences to the petrol pump owners, putting a stop to police harassment in the name of examining papers, renovating tank lorry terminals by 15 days, and appointing representatives of the state-run oil companies in the mobile courts.
"The government has accepted two of our vital demands. They have also promised to meet the rest of our demands by next one month," Nazmul Haque, convener of the petrol pump and tank lorry owners and workers union, told the FE.
"We have called off the strike for a month, as the government has assured us that they would address our demands," he said.
The state minister for energy and power said a committee has been formed to look into the demands of petrol pump and tank-lorry owners and workers. The government will decide the next course of action on the basis of the recommendations of that committee.

Earlier, except a few state-run petrol pumps, pumps across the country remained closed and tank lorries stopped operating from Sunday morning.
"All of our 1927 members have observed work abstention. All operations at petrol pumps and petroleum transportation remained suspended during the nationwide shutdown," said Mr Nazmul.
Their other demands include - increasing commission for fuel sale from 2.0 per cent to 7.0 per cent, implementation of policies for setting up petrol pumps, setting up testing laboratory in every depot, providing accident insurance of Tk 500,000, building lorry terminals and rest-houses near the depots, and increasing tank lorry charges etc.
Earlier on March 14, the Council observed a half-day strike at the pumps and depots across the country to realise the same demands.