Transport owners call off 72-hour strike after government assurance
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The 72-hour transport strike, announced to press home an eight-point demand including amendments to the Road Transport Act-2018, has been called off.
The strike was scheduled to begin at 6:00 am on Tuesday and continue until 6:00 am on Friday.
The decision came on Sunday afternoon following a meeting between transport owners and government representatives at Bijoy Hall of the Power Development Board headquarters in Dhaka.
During the meeting, the demands were discussed in detail, and the government assured that the process to address and resolve them would begin soon.
Following the meeting, transport workers’ leader Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas told reporters that it was not right to hold the government hostage to extract demands.
“All government decisions will be implemented in accordance with the law. The government has considered our reasonable demands after several meetings. Therefore, we are announcing the withdrawal of the strike,” he said.
On behalf of the government, the Road Transport Adviser said discussions with transport owners and workers would ensure their demands were considered at a reasonable level.
“The owners have been reassured by our words, and as a result, they have withdrawn their strike,” the adviser stated.
The eight-point demand includes amendments to Sections 98 and 105 of the Road Transport Act-2018 and other relevant clauses. It also seeks to extend the economic lifespan of commercial vehicles from the existing 20–25 years to 30 years.
Other demands include restoring the recently increased presumptive income tax on commercial vehicles to its previous rate, raising the import age limit for reconditioned commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks, covered vans, and prime movers from five to 12 years, introducing a scrappage policy for outdated vehicles, adopting a policy requiring the police to return accident-damaged vehicles to their owners within 72 hours, speeding up the process for issuing and renewing driving licences, and fully implementing the 12-point demand of the Road Transport Workers’ Federation.