Miners strike at Barapukuria

Dinajpur, Feb 2 (bdnews24.com)—Over 1,000 miners at Barapukuria coal mine in Dinajpur went on strike Tuesday to press home their demand for increased bonuses.

Robiul Islam, Barapukuria coal mine workers union president, told bdnews24.com that mine authorities had agreed to pay each worker a Tk 4,200 bonus, while the workers were pressing for a 'profit bonus' of Tk 30,000 each.

A top official of the management of the mine claimed that coal extraction was not being affected by the strike called by 1,060 Bangladeshi miners.

"The strike is not hampering mining activities," said Baropukuria Coal Mine Company managing director Md Qamruzzaman.

The workers on Monday night had announced that they would go on a strike for an indefinite period to realise their demand.

He said the union had an hour long meeting with the mine's general manager Abdul Jalil and deputy general manager Qamruzzaman (geology) to discuss the bonus issue.

But the management finally rejected their demand, prompting the workers union to announce the strike programme.

He said the workers had been placing their demand with the mine authorities for payment of a profit bonus since November 18, 2009.

The workers at a press conference held at Dinajpur Press Club on January 10 had warned that they would call a strike if the management failed to meet their demands by January 20.

But they deferred their strike programme to allow the management to meet their demand by Febuary 1, said Robiul Islam.

The union general secretary Noor Islam said, "The managing director of the company recently paid some of the mine officials and employees Tk 376,000 as profit bonus, whereas the workers who earned the profit working 24 hours, risking their life, were deprived of their profit share."

Barapukuria Coal Mine Company directly employs some 155 Chinese workers and employees and 198 Bangladeshis.

But another 1,060 local workers are hired on a temporary basis by a Chinese contractor.