The National Road Transport Motor Workers Federation has complained that extortion has resumed as public transport began operating after the shutdown over the coronavirus pandemic was lifted.
The federation’s President Mostaqur Rahman Mostaq made the allegation in a press conference at the organization’s office in Dhaka's Gabtali area on Wednesday.
In a written statement, he said that for a long time, the embezzlers of the public transport workers' welfare fund have not been by the side of the workers, who are infuriated now.
Once again, money is being raised in the name of different labour leaders while general workers are protesting at different terminals across the country, he added.
Mostaqur said workers are being attacked if dues are not paid. Thus, he brought a complaint against Bangladesh Road Transport Federation and Dhaka Transport Owners Association .
Calling workers all over the country to protest against extortion, Mostaqur said that the greedy owner-labour leaders who have held the transport sector hostage for the last 27 years are still continuing to do so.
They have taken ordinary transport owners and workers as hostages. They are making the government and the people suffer at different times for their own benefit, he added.
According to Mostaqur, these leaders have embezzled huge amount of money in the name of workers' welfare. However they have not stood by the workers during the coronavirus crisis.
“Through the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), I am demanding an account of the assets and trial of these leaders of the Workers Federation and the Transport Owners Association,” he added.
Besides all this, the transport extortionists are also standing up against the actor IlIas Kanchan, who has done various works for road safety, by misleading the general workers.
At the press conference, he demanded the prime minister's intervention to get rid of harassment while issuing new licenses and making it mandatory to issue employment letters to all transport workers.
