Ctg port strike suspended for 2 days

The Chittagong Port Protection Struggle Council has suspended the ongoing work abstention by workers and staff at Chittagong Port for two days following a meeting with the Shipping Adviser.

After a meeting with Shipping Adviser M. Sakhawat Hossain at the port building on Thursday afternoon, the council's co-coordinator Md. Humayun Kabir announced the suspension of the programme. He informed journalists that considering the Ramadan month and the overall situation, the strike would be suspended for the upcoming Friday and Saturday. During this time, the adviser has assured he will inform them of decisions regarding the relevant demands. However, he said if a decision is not reached by Saturday, the programme will resume from Sunday.

Another co-coordinator of the Struggle Council, Ibrahim Khokon, said the strike was suspended for two days based on the adviser's assurances. According to him, the programme would effectively be suspended from 5:00 pm on Thursday.

Port workers and staff began the work abstention last Saturday in protest against the decision to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to the UAE-based company DP World. Initially, the programme started under the banner of the Port Nationalist Workers' League but later continued under the banner of the Chittagong Port Protection Struggle Council. After observing a three-day, eight-hour daily strike starting Saturday, they went on a continuous strike from Tuesday.

This created a virtual standstill at the port. In this situation, on Thursday morning, Shipping Adviser M. Sakhawat Hossain came to Chittagong Port and faced protests from agitating workers outside Gate No. 4. Later, he sat in a meeting with representatives of the Struggle Council.