Cargo handling yet to resume as dockers continue agitation; negotiations on
The impasse over container handling at all the 12 jetties of general cargo berths (GCBs) at Chittagong Port continued for the second day yesterday with dock workers still agitating to realise their demands.
Officials of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and labour leaders were chased and two of the leaders manhandled by demonstrating workers at Jetty No 12 yesterday evening. They went there in a bid to end the stalemate that began at 9.00pm on Monday.
Those manhandled are Dock Bandar Sramik Karmachari Federation General Secretary Mahfujur Rahman Khan and Joint Secretary Abdul Ahad.
Meanwhile, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan rushed to the port city yesterday, and called all the sides concerned for talks at the CPA rest house around 6:00pm.
The trouble centred allowing container handling by private berth operators.
Workers under the banner of the federation resisted scheduled start of container handling at the GCBs by the newly appointed private berth operators on Friday afternoon to press home their demands.
The demands include immediate recruitment of scrutinised workers according to an agreement signed between the CPA and workers’ representatives earlier, issuance of identity cards to the workers and introduction of labour department under the CPA’s Traffic Department.
On the CPA’s assurance of meeting the demands, the federation leaders announced on Monday evening that the workers’ agitation would stop. But the workers termed the leaders betrayers, and stopped activities at all the 12 GCB jetties around 9:00pm.
Sources said the federation leaders have failed to persuade the workers to join work.
