Labourers call Chattogram Port blockade to protest leasing of terminals to foreign companies

The Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) has announced a blockade of Chattogram Port demanding the suspension of plans to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal and the Laldiar Char terminal to foreign companies.

The decision was made public on Saturday during SKOP’s divisional convention, bdnews24.com reports. 

Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, divisional secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, presided over the meeting and outlined the blockade route through three key city areas.

The port will be blocked from 10am to 1pm next Wednesday at Agrabad Electric Building, Mile’s Mound, and the entrance of the Boro Pul port-connecting road.

SKOP said leasing profitable installations, including the New Mooring Container Terminal, to domestic or foreign firms undermines national interest, threatens the livelihoods of workers and port-dependent communities, and poses a risk to state security.

They demanded an immediate halt to all leasing processes and the cancellation of opaque contracts related to Laldiar Char and Pangaon terminals.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, head of the Labour Reform Commission and a labour specialist, emphasised the need for a national manifesto on issues including port privatisation, jute mill leases, closure of government factories, and workers’ rights.

He also urged business leaders to join the movement, saying: “Workers’ responsibility is not limited to street protests; safeguarding national assets requires equal participation from businesses.”

He proposed joint discussions in Dhaka after the Nov 26 programme to strengthen worker-business unity.