Workers of all types of water vessels across the country went on an indefinite work abstention yesterday to press home their 10-point demand including hiking the minimum monthly wage to Tk 20,000.

The strike announced on November 15 and launched on Sunday, brought water transportation — both passenger and goods-carrying vessels — across the country to a grinding halt, causing immense suffering for passengers and losses to businesses.

Workers went on strike after a meeting with water transport owners and State Minister of Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian last Friday failed to meet their demand.

Bangladesh Launch Labour Association Joint Secretary Abu Sayeed said all cargo and passenger vessels, including oil tankers, and sand tankers remained inoperational across the country.

“The work abstention will continue until the demands are met,” he stressed.

He said the workers’ minimum monthly wage was last revised six years ago in 2016. Since then, the prices of essentials and living costs have increased several times but their wages remained the same.

“The workers have been demanding the rescheduling of wages and allowances for a long time. But the authorities did not pay any heed. Hence, the workers are now forced to go on strike.

Master Ekin Ali, president of Noujan Sramik Sangram Parishad, said the workers’ demands also include providing appointment letters, identity cards and service books, formation of a contributory provident fund and seafarer welfare fund to provide food and sea allowances, and Tk 10 lakh compensation for accident and death at workplace.

Besides, workers have also demanded relaxation of restrictions on the nighttime movement of sand-carrying bulkheads and dredgers, stopping extortion and robbery on waterways, stopping harassment along the Indian border in providing landing passes to workers travelling to India, 100 per cent enforcement of goods transport policy at Chattogram Port to maintain serial of all lightering vessels, cancelling the lease at Charpara Ghat and stopping all kinds of irregularities and mismanagement by the Department of Shipping.

Passengers helpless

The strike has effectively halted vessel movements through waterways across the country.

No inland and long-distance passenger launches left river ports in Dhaka, Chandpur, Barishal, Chattogram, Jashore, Khulna and other parts of the country since early Sunday, said authorities concerned.

The sudden halt has left thousands of passengers in the southern parts of the country facing extreme suffering, while businesses incurred imminent losses as freight vessel operations were also suspended.

Humayun Ahmed, a traffic inspector of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said 35 launches from all over the country anchored at Sadarghat in the capital during the night, but only one launch left for Bhola on Sunday morning.

As many as 10 launches were scheduled to leave on the Elisha route of Chandpur and Bhola till 10 am, but none left due to strike, he added.

Earlier on November 19, water transport workers halted launch operations from Barishal, Dhaka and Chandpur terminals.

In Chandpur, the movement of 40 launches including 25 that ply on the Chandpur-Dhaka route remained suspended from Sunday morning.

Our correspondents from Khulna and Jessore also reported a similar situation.

Port activities stopped
Meanwhile, loading and unloading of containers at the outer anchorage of the Chittagong Port remained mostly suspended due to the strike, Noujan Sramik Sangram Parishad Convener Shafikul Islam told The Business Post.

As the organisation announced enforcing the strike, workers at the port stopped the movement of lighterage vessels. Oil tankers are used to unload containers from mother vessels anchored at the port’s outer dock from 12am.

Vice President of Bangladesh Lighterage Workers’ Union (BLWU) Nabi Alam said, “The workers have stopped unloading goods from midnight. Lighterage vessels movement from 18 private terminals in Majhirghat and Sadarghat areas came to a halt as well.”

Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Faruk said that the strike will push up the ship fares of the shipping agents. “At least $15,000 will add in a day. This will fall on the importers and subsequently on the consumers.”

Mahfuzul Huq Shah, former director of the Chittagong Chamber Of Commerce and Industry, also added, “It’s tough to determine the extent of loss if goods transport remains suspended even for a day. But the amount can be approximately several hundred crores of taka. The country will face a massive loss due to this, for which the authorities are responsible because they are not solving these issues.”

In Jessore’s Noapara river port, all loading and unloading activities have been suspended. Traders using the port will be severely affected by this indefinite strike during the ongoing coal season, said traders.

Wage hike impossible, say owners

In the meantime, launch owners said it is impossible to meet the workers’ demands now as the business has slumped since the inauguration of the Padma Bridge.

“Launch business nowadays is in a slump. If we could, we would have stopped operating these vessels,” said Saidur Rahman of the Launch Owners Association.

He said the workers’ strike will only result in more loss than gain. “It is impossible for us to increase the wage at the moment,” he added.

Saidur said water transport owners and workers had a meeting with State Minister Monnujan Sufian where she assured that the government will formulate a policy regarding the wages and allowances of the workers within a month.

The workers left the meeting saying they will announce their decision on the matter on Saturday, he said. A day later, the strike was launched.

 Additional reporting by our correspondents in Barishal, Chattogram and Jashore