The countrywide indefinite strike by water transport workers entered its third day this morning and started taking a heavy toll on importers, as scores of cargo and lighter vessels are stranded at Chittagong and Mongla ports.
Imported goods are not being unloaded and brought into the ports on time due to the strike, forcing importers to count losses in payments of demurrages for the vessels stranded at the outer anchorages and in the nearby rivers.
The Department of Labour however called a meeting with water transport owners today to discuss the strike.
Importers said each vessel has to count no less than $15,000 a day as demurrage for overstaying at Chittagong Port. The demurrages are ultimately realised from importers.
They also said they might have to compensate lighter vessel owners for the delay in unloading and transporting of goods across the country as well.
Messrs Masud and Brothers Managing Director Abul Bashar Chowdhury said around 1,500 tonnes of rice imported by his company could not be unloaded from a lighter vessel anchored at a jetty in Chittagong due to the strike yesterday.
“We might have to pay a good amount of money per lighter vessel every day for the delay caused by the strike,” he said.
Our Chittagong correspondent reported that around 350 lighter vessels including 95 loaded with goods were stranded at different private jetties stretching from Firingi Bazar Bridge Ghat to No 15 Patenga Ghat, while many were also anchored in the Karnaphuli river.
Sixty of those vessels were waiting to leave the Karnaphuli for transporting goods to different destinations of the country while 35 others were stranded with goods to be unloaded at Chittagong.
Thirty-two lighter vessels allocated by Water Transport Coordination Cell (WTCC), an organisation that coordinates lighter vessels, remained empty and were waiting in the Karnaphuli river to get to the outer anchorage, said sources in WTCC.
Eighteen cargo vessels laden with imported wheat, sugar, salt, fertilisers, and clinkers, remained unloaded at the outer anchorage.
“Chittagong Port Authority has nothing to do with the strike resulting from a row between employees and owners of inland water vessels or lighter vessels. But, CPA is concerned about the strike, since it caused mother vessels to remain stuck at the outer anchorage of the port and count demurrages,” said CPA Secretary Syed Farhad Uddin Ahmed.
Our Khulna correspondent reported that about 50 cargo ships were waiting to be unloaded in the Pashur river near Mongla Port yesterday.
Fuel supply, power generation, industrial production, airlines operation, and fertiliser distribution will also be affected if the strike continues.
“Ninety percent of the country’s fuel oil is transported from Chittagong to others parts through lighter vessels. If the strike continues all petrol pumps will run short of fuel,” said Mahmudur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Oil Tankers Association.
Furnace oil based power stations, and fuel supply to airlines will have to be totally shut down as hundred percent of the furnace oil and jet oil are transported from Chittagong Port to Dhaka by water vessels, Rahman added.
Smooth supply of agricultural inputs during the peak boro season will also be hit hard if the strike continues, as fertiliser supply to northern regions from different fertiliser factories and Chittagong Port has been affected.
“Although fertiliser supply will not be affected at the field level right away, it will be hampered in two to three weeks if the strike continues,” said Md Faizur Rahman, a fertiliser trader in Jessore.
The strike is also causing immense sufferings to passengers on all river routes.
Feud between owners and workers of about 20,000 inland water transports over announcement of a new pay scale for workers led to the countrywide indefinite strike.
About 1.5 lakh water transport workers went on the strike on the first hour of Tuesday, for the second time within the last four months, to press home their 22-point charter of demands, after a marathon tripartite meeting among the government, the workers, and the owners had failed to reach a consensus on Monday.
Shah Alam, senior vice-president of the workers’ association Noujan Shramik Federation, told The Daily Star yesterday, “Since announcement of our last pay scale in 2004, prices of essentials increased making it hard for us to survive with the current salaries. Besides, the workers have to stay occupied in their jobs almost 24 hours a day without proper rest. There is no proper provision for leaves and job security either.”
The demands also include security for workers, cancellation of the tenure certificates for masters and drivers of vessels, proper implementation of the marine law, dredging of all rivers to ensure navigability, and prevention of robberies on waterways.
Senior Vice-president of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport (Passenger Carriers) Owners’ Association Badiuzzaman Badal however said, “Apart from the salaries, the workers also receive free food, accommodation, two bonuses, and up to 35 percent dearness allowance, which they did not consider as benefits. They have to follow the labour law before coming up with demands.”
Cargo Vessel Owners Association, and Shadharon Ponnobahi Jahaj Malik Shomity in a press conference yesterday termed the strike illegal, calling upon the workers to immediately withdraw it.
Different workers organisations including Sramik Karmachari Oikkyo Parishad on the other hand expressed solidarity with the strike.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Economy, Bangladesh News, Daily Bangladesh News, Economy, News
