Countrywide train operations resumed early Wednesday morning after more than 30 hours of suspension, as the striking staff of Bangladesh Railway (BR) finally joined work following a successful late-night meeting with the railway adviser.
After getting Railway Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan's assurance that all demands of the running staff would be met, the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Worker-Employee Union withdrew the strike at around 2:30am in a joint statement issued from the adviser's residence.
Mujibur Rahman and Saidur Rahman of the union attended the meeting held at the adviser's residence where Anti-Discrimination Student Movement Convener Hasnat Abdullah and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal leader Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas were also present.
Besides, Railway Secretary Md Fahimul Islam and BR Director General Afzal Hossain were present. Other leaders of BR Jatiyatabadi Railway Sramik and Karmachari Dal, Bangladesh Railway Employees Leader, BR Guard Council, and BR TTE Association attended as well.
The joint statement said there is no condition for getting the running allowance according to the establishment code, while the running benefit will continue.
After the strike was lifted, train services at the Kamalapur Railway Station resumed at 6:30am with the departure of the Rajshahi-bound Dhumketu Express. Some 30 trains were operated till 5pm, but three were cancelled and another three were delayed till filing the report.
Railway officials said all trains scheduled for Wednesday left from and arrived at the Kamalapur station on time, but some trains needed to be cancelled and some others faced delays due to technical problems.
The BR director general said some trains were delayed because of completing arrangements like managing locomotive masters at the starting station, freeing lines, etc.
Meanwhile, in line with the railway adviser's assurance, the finance ministry in an order on Wednesday withdrew the provision of limiting running allowance to the monthly basic pay scale.
On January 23, the ministry in a statement said the running staff would get a 100 per cent running allowance instead of the previously announced 75 per cent but the amount cannot exceed the monthly pay scale.
This triggered locomotive masters, assistant locomotive masters, guards, and travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) to announce an indefinite strike that took effect at 00:00 on Tuesday.
After the strike began, railways ministry and BR officials tried to hold a meeting with the workers but could not for over 26 hours, causing hundreds of thousands of passengers to face untold misery.
Running staff leader Saidur Rahman told The Financial Express over the phone on Wednesday that the government had accepted all their demands, except the issuance of a letter by the finance ministry announcing the restoration of pension benefits, which were cut through a 2021 order.
He said the strike was lifted and workers joined work as the adviser had assured them the letter would be issued soon.
After train services resumed, the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation withdrew its special bus service introduced on Tuesday morning for the train passengers affected by the strike.
smunima@yahoo.com
