Jute mill workers block road-rail in Khulna

Jute mill workers in Khulna and Jessore have started to stage an indefinite dawn-to-dusk roads-railways blockade after authorities failed to meet their demands within a three-day deadline. Workers from seven state-owned jute mills in the districts started the blockade – called by the Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) and non-CBA Oikya Parishad – from 6am yesterday. Earlier, the workers suspended a similar blockade following promises from authorities concerned. All traffic movement at three points of the Khulna-Jessore Highway was stopped when workers took position at Notun Rasta intersection, Alim Jute Mill gate, and JJIR gate at Nawapara. Khulna Railway Station Master Kazi Amirul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that rail  link between Khulna and the rest of the country has been cut off since 6am yesterday as workers have been blockading rail tracks near Notun Rasta intersection, Atra and Rajghat areas. On April 7, as part of negotiations with labour leaders, the Khulna deputy commissioner sought three days time to solve the workers’ demands; but those three days ended yesterday without any substantial steps from authorities concerned. The jute mill workers, meanwhile, have been staging work abstention at the mills for the past week. The demands of the workers include the formation of a pay commission board for jute workers, payment of the promised 20% dearness allowance, nationalisation of Khalishpur and Daulatpur jute mills, and payment of all outstanding wages. Md Sohrab Hossain, convener of the Oikya Parishad, said the workers now have their backs to the wall after authorities failed to solve the problems. The workers movement would now continue until all the demands were met, he added. Joint convener of the workers’ platform, Abdus Salam Jamaddar, said an April 7 meeting chaired by Khulna Deputy Commissioner Md Nazmul Hasan promised the jute mill workers that their outstanding wages would be paid within April 10. Based on the promise, the blockade programme was suspended at the time; but as the deadline expired yesterday, the workers had no choice but to resume the roads-railways blockade, Jamaddar said. The non-stop work abstention programme was launched on April 4 by around 35,000 workers from Star, Platinum Jubilee, Crescent, Daulatpur, Alim, Eastern, Carpeting and Jessore jute mills. They also called a three-day eight-hour-long roads-railways blockade from April 5, which was suspended two days later.