Railway running staff end strike after government assurance

The leaders of the protesting railway running staff have ended their indefinite strike after the government agreed to meet their demands.

Md Mojibur Rahman, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers Union, announced the withdrawal of the strike at a press conference around 2:45 am on Wednesday (29 January) following a meeting with Railways Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan at his residence.

Mojibur said, "The adviser told us that our problem will be solved by tomorrow [Wednesday]. We do not want public suffering. We express our regret. We are calling off the strike from now on."

"We have withdrawn the strike. I want to tell the workers through the media. The advisor said we will get what we have been getting before," he added.

Anti-discrimination Students Movement Coordinator Hasnat Abdullah, Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal leader Shimul Biswas, senior officials of the Railway Ministry, and others were also present at the meetinand

Previously, the running staff started their strike at midnight on Monday, calling for the reinstatement of their former allowance and pension system. This led to a suspension of train services nationwide for nearly 27 hours.