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Frequent Hartals

Transport workers in trouble

Helemul Alam and Arun Bikash Dey
Around seven million transport workers across the country, who are paid on daily basis, had suffered severe financial crisis during the three spells of hartal since 27 October, transport leaders said.
As most of the commercial vehicles remained idle, many of the transport workers spent the hartal days with no income.
Though a few bus companies paid their workers some money for food during hartals, thousands of other transport workers did not receive any such allowance.
Daily wages of these workers of around 22 lakh vehicles across the country range betweenTk 500 andTk 1200 a day.
"Hartal renders a blow to the transport workers as they get their payment on daily basis," said Osman Ali, general secretary of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation.
Abul Kalam Azad, secretary general of Chattagram Jela Sarak Paribahan Malik Croup, said the
transport sector of Chittagong incurs loss around Tk 25 crore on a hartal day.
Around 50,000 public vehicles ply on the city and district routes, he said.
"Most of the vehicles are bought taking bank loans. We will not be able to pay the bank instalments now as there was no income on hartal days," he said.
He added that most of the owners and their families were dependent on the income of the vehicles.
SM Habibul Haque, president of Chittagong Divisional Goods Carrying Transport Owner-Labourer Coordination Forum, said around 8,000 trucks and covered vans, which carry goods from Chittagong Port, remained idle on hartal days.
The average income of a vehicle is Tk 2,000 a day, he said, adding that the sector had incurred losses of around Tk 7 crore in the last four-day hartal that ended Wednesday evening.
Anowar, a truck driver of the capital's Sayedabad area, said he had already borrowed Tk 5000 with an
interest rate of Tk 500 a month, as there was no income on the hartal days.
"I am afraid I will have to take more loans to run my family if more hartals are enforced in future," said frustrated Anowar.
Mohammad Mamun, helper of Tisha Paribahan that operates on Dhaka-Laksham route, said though bus owner had given them Tk 200 as allowance for food during hartals, he was forced to borrow additional Tk 200 to meet his daily expenses.
He said the buses operate on roster basis. Therefore, a bus of his company remains idle for 10 days in a month, he added.
They usually save money from the income of 20 days to help them meet the expenses of the remaining 10 days, when they do not have any work.
He would not be given any chance to work for the days he missed in the hartals, he added.
"We will have to suffer if the political situation does not improve," he added.