Ctg jetty workers call off strike

Cargo handling at several private jetties on the bank of Karnaphuli river resumed yesterday as workers called off their strike after their demand for a wage hike was met.

Jetty and warehouse workers returned to work around 1.00pm -- after about 53 hours -- as a tri-party meeting decided to increase wages by 17 percent, one of their nine-point demands.

Ruling party lawmaker MA Latif, President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahbubul Alam, representatives of contractors Abul Hashem and Abu Taiyab and jetty and warehouse labour leaders Idris Ali and Raja Mia attended the meeting.

It was decided that workers would be paid Tk 10.5 for carrying a 90kg sack and Tk 6.17 for a 50kg sack while the previous wages were Tk 9 and Tk 5.28 respectively, Raja Mia told The Daily Star.

The chamber leaders assured the workers of meeting the rest of the demands gradually, he said.

After unloading imported goods from big cargo vessels anchored at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port, lighter vessels carry the cargo to 16 private jetties at Sadarghat and Majhirghat areas in the city.

At least 15 lighter vessels had remained idle due to the strike, said Ataul Karim, an official of Water Transport Cell, a private company that coordinates schedules for lighter vessels.