Bangladesh’s Chattogram Port Disrupted by Truck Driver Strike
A trucker strike has stalled cargo entering and exiting Bangladesh’s biggest port since Monday morning.
The workers, who are part of the Chattogram District Prime Mover Trailer, Concrete Mixer, Flatbed, Dump Truck Workers Union called the 48-hour strike at Chattogram Port at 6 a.m. local time, and it will continue through 6 a.m. Wednesday.
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Due to the strike, there has been no movement of cargo between the port and its 21 local inland container depots, which are typically used to alleviate congestion at Chattogram by adding more area for container handling.
“Due to our strike, the transport of imported goods from the port to various routes of the country has been stopped. No cars are coming up with export products either,” the union’s secretary Abul Khayer told The Business Standard. “A meeting with senior officials of various organizations is underway. We will decide on the continuation of the protest or its withdrawal later on.”
Although no cargo is being released from the port because of the trucker strike, container loading and unloading on ships docked at the port is continuing as normal.
The union started the work stoppage after demanding that the Prime Mover Owners Association issued the drivers appointment letters and identity cards. Appointment letters would provide newly hired drivers with more concrete knowledge of the position, including tasks, hours, expectations and compensation.
The union’s president, Selim Khan, said that despite repeated requests, the association has failed to address the issues.
Khan claims that the workers union and members of the Prime Mover Owners Association signed a deal to implement these demands within 45 days back in April, but no action has been taken since. The union head said that while many trucking company owners have distributed appointment letters and identity cards in the time since, member companies of the owners’ association have not.
Additional demands from the union include fixed work hours and a minimum wage.
Abu Bakar Siddique, executive president of the Prime Mover Owners Association, which represents the trucking firms, told Bangladeshi publication The Daily Star that the demand for appointment letters was illogical since workers operate on a “no work, no pay” basis. He added that the owners’ association is meeting to address the situation and resume operations.
Of the roughly 10,000 trucking companies involved in cargo transport across the country, 4,000 are responsible for moving containers to and from Chattogram Port, according to the report.
Ruhul Amin Sikder Biplab, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA), told The Business Standard that roughly 2,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of export containers are taken from the inland depots to the port every day.
“Similarly, about 800 TEUs of import containers are brought to the depots,” Biplab said.
Chattogram Port, also known as Chittagong Port, has been a recurring source of congestion in recent months. Over the summer, deadly nationwide protests took Bangladesh by storm, ultimately toppling the country’s prior government and forcing factories and the port to shut down for several days.
The shutdown resulted in weeklong container vessel berthing delays for ships looking to dock at Chattogram. Upon reopening, cargo buildups made it more difficult to load and unload the vessels on time. Additionally, the national protests halted the movement of rail cargo to and from the port at certain points.
The delays and shutdowns in late July led to a flood of product exiting the country the next month. Export container handling in August increased 23.4 percent month over month to 78,146 TEUs, up from 59,854 TEUs in July, according to the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
Heavy flooding to close out August caused a vehicle shortage, again slowing the movement of import and export freight as trucks faced obstructions and delays on highways throughout Bangladesh. The flooding impacted 3 million people in the country.
Most recently, a software malfunction disrupted the flow of containers at the port for a week, namely because it prevented customs officials and clearing and forwarding agents from accessing the system properly and submitting import and export data. With the automated software, the port’s customs house could track and manage the flow of goods while reducing paperwork and manual intervention, and more quickly approve cargo clearance.
In response, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) urged customs authorities to enable manual customs clearance of ready-made garments.
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