Following a 34-hour halt due to a strike by prime mover drivers who transport containers, export and import container transportation to and from Chittagong port resumed on the afternoon of October 22. Demands for appointment letters, identity cards, and improved working conditions, including minimum pay requirements, sparked the walkout, which started at six in the morning on Monday.
Container ships had severe delays during the strike; the HR Aarai, which was headed for Colombo, had to delay its departure after it could only load 385 TEUs of export containers rather than the intended 956 TEUs. According to Ismail Ahmed, manager of HR Lines, the ship was unable to take on further containers even after waiting an extra day at the jetty, which cost the port administration an additional $4,000 or so.
Over 100 TEUs of export-laden containers that were unable to be carried because of the strike were left behind when another ship, Em Stepses, left for Singapore on Tuesday. During the strike, there was no container transit between the 20 private inland container depots and the port, according to the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA).
In order to seek improved working conditions, the Chittagong District Prime Mover Trailer, Concrete Mixer, Flatbed, Dump Truck Workers Union organised the walkout. In response, Commodore M. Fazlar Rahman, Member (Harbour) of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), called a tripartite conference with representatives from the Department of Labour, workers’ groups, and prime mover owners. The union officials announced a suspension of the strike until Thursday morning after the meeting, which started at 11:30 AM and ended at 4:00 PM.
Md. Selim Khan, the president of the union, was upbeat about the forthcoming talks and said that they will look for legal answers to their demands during Thursday’s meeting. He did, however, issue a warning that the strike might resume if their concerns were not addressed.
Other vehicles were still in operation, therefore bulk freight transfer to and from the port proceeded uninterrupted despite the significant impact on container traffic. Container handling at the port jetties continued to run well in spite of the strike actions, according to CPA Secretary Md. Omar Faruk.