Assault on union leaders: Ctg prime mover workers end strike as cops suspended

Prime mover trailer workers in Chattogram ended their indefinite work abstention on Thursday (15 May) evening, following the temporary suspension of two policemen accused of assaulting their union leader and several drivers.

The 11-hour long strike, which began at 6am, enforced a halt to container transport from Chattogram Port and private inland container depots (ICDs). 

It was called off after a meeting between the Chattogram District Prime Mover, Trailer, Concrete Mixer, Flatbed, Drum Truck Workers' Union and senior officials of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP).

"We met CMP Commissioner Hasib Aziz in the afternoon. Additional commissioners of traffic and crime were also present. It was decided that the accused officers and constables would be temporarily suspended. After that, we called off the strike around 5pm," said Abu Khair, general secretary of the union.

CMP Deputy Commissioner (West) Hossain Mohammad Kabir Bhuiyan confirmed to The Business Standard that the president of the prime movers union and two drivers were assaulted by police. Two policemen have been suspended, though their names were not disclosed.

With the strike lifted, container transport operations resumed at Chattogram Port and ICDs. Export-bound containers began moving from the depots to the port, while import containers resumed delivery to destinations.

Md Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chattogram Port Authority, confirmed that chassis-based deliveries were suspended during the strike. "Goods were still being delivered using covered vans and trucks. However, deliveries on chassis were halted during the day," he said. "It's difficult to confirm exactly how many containers could not be delivered during that period."

The strike stemmed from a violent incident in the city's Pahartali area on Wednesday. 

According to the union, a drug addict fatally stabbed a man. Locals then tried to use a prime mover truck to transport the body to the hospital. When the driver refused, explaining that such vehicles are not meant for transporting bodies, his driving license and port entry card were confiscated by angry residents.

The driver called union president Selim Khan to the scene. When Selim arrived with drivers Delwar Hossain and Mohammad Faisal, police officers led by the Officer-in-Charge of Pahartali Police Station allegedly assaulted them.

In protest, workers launched a complete shutdown of container transport from Thursday morning.