Transport operators started a 48-hour strike, leaving import and export containers stranded, causing further disruptions for shippers at Chittagong Port.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) are anticipated to be impacted each day by the strike, which is being spearheaded by the Chittagong District Prime Move Trailer Workers Union.
Khan claimed that although some transport companies have agreed with the demands, others—especially those affiliated with the owners’ association—are postponing their implementation. The walkout will go on until an acceptable resolution is found, the union has pledged.
The employees are demanding a number of things, such as identity cards and appointment letters, which they say prime mover owners have long refused to provide. Md. Selim Khan, the president of the union, claimed that the owners have not addressed these problems in spite of repeated demands. A minimum wage and the establishment of set work hours are further demands.
Cargo transportation between Chattogram Port and private inland container depots (ICDs) has been halted due to the strike. Since the start of the strike, prime mover drivers and assistants have stopped working at all 20 ICDs, according to Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA).
