Passengers suffer as Biman’s casual workers abstain

Casual workers of the state carrier the Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Sunday suspended work abstention programme after the management's assurance.
The programme that lasted for about nine hours caused sufferings to passengers at the Dhaka airport.
As many as 1,500 casual workers took positions in front of the headquarters of the Biman from 6:00 AM following the pre-scheduled programme of demonstration to realise their demand for regularising job.
At 3:00 PM, Biman managing director and chief executive officer AM Mosaddique Ahmed told the workers that the higher authorities of the airlines have instructed him to raise the issue in the next board meeting.
He requested the workers to join their duties and wait until the next board meeting.
"You have achieved whatever you wanted today. Wait until the next board meeting. I hope you will get a good result then," said Mr Mosaddique.
The workers pressed for the date of the next board meeting, but no specific date was announced.
Biman Sramik League president Moshikur Rahman said that the workers will go for work abstention again if their demands are not met in the next board meeting.
Meanwhile, passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport HSIA) suffered as a section of Biman casual workers refrained from work since Sunday morning.
The airport director Group Captain Abdullah Farooq said that both the inbound and outbound passengers suffered due to disruption in ground handling operations owing to the work-abstention programme.
Members of Ansar, Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) were instructed to conduct the ground handling operations, he added.
Both loading and unloading operations were hampered due to the workers' demonstration. Biman is responsible for providing ground handling services in all airports of the country.
On an average, 200 domestic and international flights fly in and out of the airport daily.
A source at cargo village told the FE at least 400 casual helpers work there, all of whom joined the demo hampering all kinds of delivery, loading, and unloading of goods. He however said they were carrying out their jobs partially by fewer than 100 permanent workers.
Meanwhile, the flight schedules were seriously disrupted due to the agitation programme of the casual workers.
The civil aviation authority tried to maintain the schedule by deploying its own workforce. Even members of the police were engaged in ground services.
Sources said it was decided to regularise the job of 700 casual pay group (31) and (32) of third class workers at the board meeting held on September 18. But no decision was taken to regularise the job of 1800 pay group (1) workers.
Casual workers then met the civil aviation and tourism minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal and Awami League general secretary Obaidul Qader on 24 September.

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