Ctg port workers stage mass hunger strike to protest NCT, Laldiya Char lease plan

Hundreds of port workers and trade union leaders staged a mass hunger strike outside the Chattogram Press Club today (1 November) in a protest against the interim government's decision to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Laldiya Char.

The hunger strike, organised by the Chattogram Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), began at 9am and drew activists from various affiliated unions, who vowed to maintain pressure until the lease decision is revoked. The protest continued until the afternoon.

In his opening address, SKOP central leader Md Anwar Hossain condemned the move to hand over the NCT to the UAE-based DP World "against the national interest."

He said the NCT was built with domestic funds and modern technology, and described it as the country's most successful container terminal. "This decision will not be accepted under any circumstances," he asserted.

Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, SKOP's event chair and former general secretary of the Port CBA, argued the state must protect public assets rather than lease or sell them. He urged the interim government to ensure a free and fair transfer of power through elections and warned against the continued harassment of port workers with arbitrary notices.

Speakers at the protest included leaders from major labour bodies and port unions, such as TUC Chattogram district president and Labour Reform Commission member Tapan Dutta; Bangladesh Workers' Federation President SK Khoda Toton; Khorshedul Alam of the Trade Union Federation; Aamra's Jamal Uddin; dock workers' leader Taslim Hossain Selim; and SKOP Joint Convener Rizwanur Rahman Khan.

All condemned the Chattogram Metropolitan Police's recent public order notice that restricts gatherings and warned that such administrative bans cannot suppress a legitimate movement.

Tapan Dutta said the unilateral decision inherited from the previous administration and maintained by the interim government is unacceptable. He warned that unless the government revokes the lease decision immediately, workers will escalate with a general strike, port blockade and other tougher actions that could paralyse Chattogram.

Organisers demanded an immediate cancellation of the lease process for NCT and Laldiya Char and called for meaningful consultation with port workers and stakeholders. They also demanded an end to what they described as attempts to intimidate labour through "unreasonable show cause notices."

SKOP leaders warned that the hunger strike was the first step. If the government fails to respond, they pledged coordinated labour actions across the city, including sustained work stoppages and blockade of port operations.