Passengers suffer as vessels kept anchored

Passengers on all river routes suffered immensely on the first day of an indefinite inland water transport strike yesterday.
The workers called the strike after a marathon tripartite meeting among the government, the workers and the owners failed to reach a consensus about a new pay scale on Monday.
Passengers were seen stranded at the Sadarghat launch terminal in Dhaka, as well as various launch terminals in the districts of Barisal, Chandpur, Sirajganj and Rangpur.
Water transport is of major importance to trade in Bangladesh -- there are approximately 20,000 motorised water vessels plying 300 routes on any given day.
The water transport sector has a 40 percent share of the total passenger traffic and there are around 1.5 lakh workers involved in the sector.
Yesterday in Sadarghat, only one steamer-launch run by BIWTA bound for Barisal was running.
There are usually over 100 vessels carrying over 50,000 passengers to and from the capital each day.
Speaking from Sadarghat, Nargis Begum, a garment worker, said, “I planned to go home to Lalmohon in Bhola to visit my ailing son-in-law.
"I came all the way from Mohakhali and now I have to go to Gabtali to take a bus.”
Shah Alam, senior vice-president of the workers' association Noujan Shramik Federation said, “Workers remain on a pay scale announced in 2004, which was supposed to expire in 2009.
"We were forced to call the strike as we have been waiting for a new pay scale for 14 months.
"We've made repeated efforts for talks.”
For general workers, the basic pay is Tk 1300 per month, while masters get Tk 2,400.
Workers also receive an allowance of Tk 600 for medical expenses and rent.
Other demands from the workers include security, cancellation of the tenure certificates for masters and drivers of vessels, proper implementation of the marine law, dredging of all rivers to ensure navigability and preventing robberies on waterways.
Senior Vice-president of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport (Passenger Carriers) Owners' Association Badiuzzaman Badal said, “The workers are being stubborn.
"They want a 200 percent raise and they also want the dearness allowance, which is unreasonable."
An official from the Directorate of Labour who spoke on condition of anonymity said that two committees are working to resolve the issues.
In Narayanganj, three launches were attacked by workers, causing injuries to three people.