All kinds of activities including loading and unloading of goods at Bhomra Land port of Satkhira halted on Sunday over workers’ demand to raise their pay.The trouble started on Saturday after the clearing and forwarding agents refused to raise the charges for loading and unloading goods by workers.
During the work stoppage, scuffles broke out after a section of workers loyal to the C and F agents started to carry a consignment of fruits imported from India to another truck.
Hadiuzzaman Badsha, organizing secretary of the association of the agents, said some unruly workers of a faction of the four workers’ unions carried out the attack on the agent’s staffs when they were helping the workers of another faction unload goods from a fruits-laden truck which came from India.
Two staffs of the agent suffered severe injury in the attack and they were undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said threatening that they would go for a tougher movement unless the perpetrators are brought to trial.
Ajaj Ahmed Swapon, vice president of the agents’ association, said they used to pay TK 800 to 1000 to the workers for unloading goods from a truck.
“We also increased the wage to Tk 1100 following the demand by the workers,” he said adding that two out of the four workers’ unions agreed to the decision.
The dissident workers attacked the agents’ staff and the loyal workers when they were unloading the goods from vehicles, he alleged.
Hafizul Islam, a leader of a faction of the workers’ union, said they abstained from the work on Saturday demanding that the pay is raised to Tk 1200 from existing Tk 1000 for unloading goods from a truck considering current market prices of essential commodities.
Maksud Khan, general secretary of the agents’ association, said they will register a case in this connection and the next course of action will be decided after holding meeting with the administration.
