Over 1,000 CCC workers hold protests
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
CHITTAGONG, Aug 25 (bdnews24.com): Over one thousand workers of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) stopped work and held demonstrations Monday to press for a number of demands including job security and pay hike.
The workers observed a token hunger strike and held a rally on the city corporation grounds from 9:00am.
Temporary workers of the CCC were demonstrating for job permanence and wage hikes, while permanent workers joined them with demands for job promotions.
Workers' representatives and top CCC officials sat in a meeting around 12.30pm.
Garbage truck driver Abdul Munaf told the news agency that he had been serving the corporation on a temporary basis for over 14 years for a daily wage of just Tk 150.
"The pay is too low to maintain a family with prices mounting," he said.
"We want the authorities to make our jobs permanent and give bonuses or we will continue our protest," Munaf added.
Assistants to the garbage truck drivers and street cleaners are demanding their pay be raised to Tk 150 a day from Tk 120.
The temporary workers were also demanding their salaries on the first day of the month instead of the tenth.
CCC Sramik Karmachari Unnayan Parishad president Kazi Abu Tayab told the agency that a committee had been formed to make the workers' jobs permanent, but the authorities were not implementing the measure.
"Whenever we take to the streets the CCC mayor and commissioners hold meetings and pledge to meet our demands. But they stop there," Tayab said.
"This time we will continue our movement until all our demands are met," he said.
Tayab later relented, however, and said the workers would halt their move if the mayor assured them that their demands would be met.
Acting mayor of CCC M Manjur Alam said that the workers' demands would be fulfilled through legal processes.
Kotwali police chief Shah Alam said the workers were holding their procession peacefully; sufficient police were being deployed on the corporation grounds.
Actions would be taken if the agitators took their protest out of the corporation grounds, he said.
The workers observed a token hunger strike and held a rally on the city corporation grounds from 9:00am.
Temporary workers of the CCC were demonstrating for job permanence and wage hikes, while permanent workers joined them with demands for job promotions.
Workers' representatives and top CCC officials sat in a meeting around 12.30pm.
Garbage truck driver Abdul Munaf told the news agency that he had been serving the corporation on a temporary basis for over 14 years for a daily wage of just Tk 150.
"The pay is too low to maintain a family with prices mounting," he said.
"We want the authorities to make our jobs permanent and give bonuses or we will continue our protest," Munaf added.
Assistants to the garbage truck drivers and street cleaners are demanding their pay be raised to Tk 150 a day from Tk 120.
The temporary workers were also demanding their salaries on the first day of the month instead of the tenth.
CCC Sramik Karmachari Unnayan Parishad president Kazi Abu Tayab told the agency that a committee had been formed to make the workers' jobs permanent, but the authorities were not implementing the measure.
"Whenever we take to the streets the CCC mayor and commissioners hold meetings and pledge to meet our demands. But they stop there," Tayab said.
"This time we will continue our movement until all our demands are met," he said.
Tayab later relented, however, and said the workers would halt their move if the mayor assured them that their demands would be met.
Acting mayor of CCC M Manjur Alam said that the workers' demands would be fulfilled through legal processes.
Kotwali police chief Shah Alam said the workers were holding their procession peacefully; sufficient police were being deployed on the corporation grounds.
Actions would be taken if the agitators took their protest out of the corporation grounds, he said.