Around 15 workers of a private berth operator were injured and three port officials assaulted yesterday at Chittagong Port when dock workers protested against the handling of containers by the berth operator before fulfilling their demands.
Everest Enterprise, one of the six newly appointed private berth operators, was scheduled to start handling containers yesterday, but a section of dock workers attacked employees of the company leaving 15 of them injured.
The employees with officials of the port authorities went to jetty No 12 around 4:00pm to start the operation but about 200 dock workers resisted them, sources said.
Shahadat Hossain Selim, proprietor of the private operator, said the workers beat up his employees and tried to set fire to his equipments.
The agitating workers also assaulted three port officials--terminal manager Enamul Karim, assistant terminal managers Golam Md Sarwarul Islam Chowdhury and Saidul Islam when they tried to save the injured, he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, workers under the banner of Dock Bandar Sramik Karmachari Federation threatened to start a fresh movement to press home their demands including recruitment of the workers scrutinised by the port authorities before giving work orders to the private berth operators.
The authorities signed agreements with the six operators Thursday evening for container handling at six general cargo berths.
General Secretary of the federation advocate Mahfujur Rahman Khan said the port workers protested since the private operator took some outsiders to work at the jetty and their demands were yet to be met.