Water transport strike may turn worse, say leaders

FE Team | Published: May 15, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Jubair Hasan
The ongoing strike being enforced by water transport workers could turn into a greater movement as the strikers have planned to mobilise pro- workers organisations and political parties to throw weight behind their demands, union leaders said.
Leaders of the country's largest vessels crew and masters union -- Bangladesh Noujan Sramik Federation -- have started campaigning to win the support of the workers-leaning political parties and organisations.
The leaders said they would go for a 'massive movement' to realise their 22-point demands, including a minimum 300 per cent increase in their monthly salaries, as the government has rejected their demands and warned of cancelling work licences of the workers if they did not return to work.
The striking workers have so far received green signal from Jatiya Ganotantrik Front, Jatiya Mukti Council, Jatiya Biplobi Front, Naya Ganotantrik Gonomorcha, Jatiya Ganotantrik Gonomanch and Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh in favour of the strike that has seriously disrupted river communications for the last seven days.
M Jahangir Hossain, an adviser of the federation, said they would launch a massive movement across the country in association with pro-workers organisations and parties to ensure the workers' 'logical demands'.
"Many worker-friendly groups and political parties have already expressed their solidarity with our strike and assured they would help us," he said.
"We've nothing to do except going for a tough movement as the shipping minister has foiled the chance for discussion, which could resolve the crisis," the federation adviser said.
He added they could still sit for talks if the authorities released their detained leaders and workers and withdrew the cases filed against them.
The federation at a press conference Friday announced a raft of protest programmes that include demonstration in the city on Saturday and countrywide protest rally on May 17.
Pro-workers organisations would also take part in those protest programmes.
"The government should accept the workers' lawful demands immediately considering the people's sufferings," said Saiful Haq, general secretary of Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh. "They will not be able to quell the workers by creating pressure on them," he added.
He said they would provide all kinds of supports to the launch workers, who are usually deprived of different benefits and perks. "The stalemate should be resolved through fruitful discussion as early as possible. Otherwise, the problem will worsen," the leftist leader said.
Shibly Kaiyum, convener of Naya Ganotantrik Gonomurcha, said the shipping minister has failed to handle such a simple matter. "He has still time to settle the issue before it goes out of his control."
Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan has branded the strike as illegal and said the government would not hold any talks unless the workers withdrew the work abstention. He also warned the strikers of dire consequences if they did not lift the strike.
On Friday, the minister extended the deadline - for the third time in a week -- for workers to return to the terminal by Saturday 5:00pm.
He told reporters: "The workers must seek apology for the mistakes they have committed."
The police have arrested senior vice-president of the federation Shah Alam on charge of 'vandalism and creating violence at Sadarghat Launch Terminal'.