Where are the welfare funds?

As evening falls, an eerie silence now replaces the usual cacophony of honking buses, hawkers shouting out their wares, and music blaring from sidewalk shops at Gabtoli Bus Terminal.

Around 15 people, seated in a few groups, were gossiping by the array of buses when The Daily Star visited last week. They wore no masks or gloves, and were oblivious to maintaining the recommended social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak.

They were transport workers -- drivers, conductors and helpers --assigned by their owners to look after the buses that have been at a standstill for more than two weeks now.

"I am here to guard the buses of my owner. He gives me Tk 100 per day as khoraki [daily allowance], which is not enough for three meals," said Rabiul Islam, a helper of Himel Paribahan.

He spends nights inside a bus and eats at local restaurants during the day. His wife and three-year-old daughter are in his village home in Rangpur.

Rabiul used to get Tk 500 for each round trip and earn between Tk 7,000 and Tk 8,000 per month.

But everything changed after the government suspended operation of all public transport from March 26 to April 4 to slow the spread of coronavirus in the country. The suspension was later extended to April 25.

"I don't know when buses will start operating again. It's not possible to live here for a long time like this. When will the situation become normal?" asked Rabiul.

More than 50 lakh transport workers are living in misery as they have no earnings for the past two weeks. They are usually paid on the basis of the number of trips.

While some like Rabiul are guarding their owners' vehicles, most workers have returned to their village homes.

Although the government kept vehicles carrying goods, including trucks and covered vans, out of purview of the suspension, only few workers operating vehicles carrying daily essentials have jobs as export-import remain halted.

FEDERATION DOING VERY LITTLE

During this ongoing suspension, the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers' Federation, an umbrella organisation of 235 transport worker unions, sought rationing programmes for food and other essentials for workers.

But many transport workers alleged that they are not getting any financial assistance from their unions or the federation, despite the fact that these platforms regularly collect money from the workers for their respective welfare funds.

"There are many transport organisations to whom we pay every day from our hard-earned money. Where are these organisations now?" asked Mohammad Kamal, supervisor of A Alom Paribahan, which operates on the Dhaka-Rangpur route.

"We used to see many transport leaders speak out on various occasions. Where are they now? We are not finding any of them by our side when we are facing the toughest time of our lives."

Kamal said the bus company was providing him with Tk 150 every day, which is not enough to buy food for three meals a day. All hotels and restaurants in the area are closed, he added.

Md Billal, another transport worker, said, "Since the shutdown started on March 26, we are now taking meals twice a day instead of thrice. But not a single transport leader has asked after us."

A top leader of the federation said each basic union provides Tk 1,000 per month to the federation. Besides, worker unions at four terminals in Dhaka collect Tk 10 from each vehicle every day on behalf of the federation.

Each union collects money -- ranging from Tk 30 to Tk 120 every day from each vehicle -- to raise funds for workers' welfare. But the amount is usually used to provide financial help to the families of deceased members and maintain offices, he added.

"So, in this situation, we have little money to give financial support to our members. Many leaders are involved in local government bodies and we are requesting them and the administration to include our members in their relief list," he said, requesting anonymity.

On Saturday, the federation directed all union leaders to prepare a list of workers and submit it to the deputy commissioner's office of their respective districts for relief. It also asked all the unions to pay relief to their members from the "workers' welfare fund".

Osman Ali, general secretary of the federation, said these are tough times for around 50 lakh transport workers in the country.

"We have called for rationing programmes for food and other essentials for the workers. But we have not yet gotten a response," he told The Daily Star on Saturday.

Osman said each union has welfare funds ranging between Tk 10 lakh and Tk 50 lakh and they are providing food assistance to their members, but this is not adequate.

Asked why the federation itself is not proving any financial support to the workers from its own welfare fund, he said, "Many unions do not provide their contribution [to the federation] regularly and the amount of our funds is minimal."

It is not possible to give financial assistance to such a large number of workers from the fund, said Osman, declining however to specify the amount of the federation's welfare fund.