A section of workers and employees confined the chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) in his office on Monday demanding payment of arrears and withdrawal of mass transfer order for their members.
Under the banner of BRTC Sramik Karmachari League, more than 60 workers and employees including drivers and mechanics locked the gate of the head office and demanded clearance of their arrears before the chairman leaves the office to join his new assignment.
It was the last day of BRTC chairman Farid Uddin Ahmed as he has been transferred to Directorate of National Archives and Libraries as Director General.
The demonstrators staged sit-in in front of the BRTC office at 8:00 pm and let the chairman go out after a meeting with him at around 6:45 pm. The chairman assured them of paying salaries to the workers and employees.
"We have dues for 10-16 months which were not paid despite assurance given by the chairman several times," driver Shamim Hawlader told the FE in front of the BRTC office.
General Secretary of BRTC Sramik Karmachari League Sudan Boidya told the FE that though the leaders of Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) cannot be transferred, he has been transferred violating the rules.
He alleged that the chairman has transferred or sacked many of them whoever demanded dues.
They were staging demo at different depots during the last couple of months. In January, workers and employees of Joar Sahara depot also kept bus service suspended for a day demanding payment of arrears.
The BRTC chairman, however, told the FE that they have six-nine months' arrears as the BRTC's earnings did not increase in accordance with the salary hike of workers and employees in 2016.
He said the BRTC could not add any new buses or trucks to its fleet since 2013 but the salaries were increased in 2016 under the government's new pay scale.
The chairman also said the BRTC workers and employees who were transferred to other depots staged demonstrations.
He said the BRTC transferred them to meet the demand for more than 350 drivers and employees in Chattogram due to an arrangement of transportation of goods from KAFCO through newly imported trucks.
"We are only behind the schedule for six to nine months in seven units (depot), not all. It does not mean that they are not getting salary every month. Monthly salary has regularly been paid to all during the last one year," the chairman claimed.
The BRTC chairman admitted that some CBA leaders are on the transfer list, saying that a move has already been taken to retransfer them. He, however, said the tenure of the CBA ended in last June.
The demonstrators alleged that none of them has received salary regularly as claimed by the chairman and arrears remain unpaid for more than a year.
Mokit Ullah, who was transferred to Gopalganj training institute from Motijheel depot, told the FE that he did not receive any salary since he joined there in October last.
Mohammad Kawser Hossain Khan, sports secretary, said BRTC received Tk 210 million last year and Tk 100 million this year from the Prime Minister's Fund to meet the demand of workers and employees.
According to BRTC's operating income and expenditure statement of bus, truck, workshop, training and head office record, BRTC has earned Tk 12.74 billion during 2014-2019 and spent Tk 12.71 billion. It has Tk 27 million in surplus till fiscal year 2018-19.
BRTC has been facing deficit in earnings for two years after the number of its buses increased to 1,400 during 2010-2011. BRTC purchased more than 900 buses from China, India and Korea till 2013. During 2016, 2017 and 2018, its expenditure crossed the income but the state-owned bus operator covered the loss with the surplus till the last fiscal year.
The state-owned transport agency has about 3,000 drivers, technicians, office assistants and security guards working at its all 22 depots, of which six are in Dhaka.
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