Prime mover-trailer workers call strike, disrupts port activities 

Aiming to drive home their demand for a pay raise, workers and drivers of prime movers and trailers on Thursday halted transporting containers between private depots and the Chattogram port.

The 24-hour work abstention called by the workers has disrupted regular port activities. 

A large number of containers are stuck at the private depots, said Ruhul Amin, secretary of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (Bicda), an association of depot owners.

"At the Chattogram port, 900 prime movers transport an average of 4,000 to 4,500 containers from the port to depots daily, which has remained halted due to the strike. Around 60,000 containers are now stuck in the depots," Ruhul added.

Omar Farooque, secretary of Chattogram Port Authority, said the transport of products from export bound vessels are being hampered due to the strike. 

Abu Bakkar Siddique, general secretary of the Prime Mover-Trailer Sramik Union told The Business Standard this abstention is a labourers' strike. 

"The workers demanded the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority to provide them with licences for driving heavy vehicles, joining letters and identity cards while recruiting them," he said while speaking at press conference at the Chattogram Press Club. 

"About 16,000 people are engaged in the sector and most of them do not have licences for driving heavy vehicles," Siddique added.

A decision had been taken to provide appointment letters to the workers during a meeting held with them last week, said Bicda Secretary Ruhul. 

"The workers are currently getting paid between Tk6,000 and Tk10,000. They also get extra money for every trip that generates them an earning of Tk25,000-Tk30,000 per month. 

"Despite such a handsome income, they called for a strike for salary hike," Ruhul added.