Shipping workers to strike if wages not hiked

Bangladesh Shipping Workers’ Federation on Saturday said if the government did not meet its 21-point charter of demands it would enforce a countrywide indefinite strike in the shipping sector from January 9.

BSWF general secretary Mohammad Jahangir Alam issued the ultimatum at a press conference at the Asad Auditorium of Workers Party central office in the city.

With the soaring prices of essential commodities, several thousand shipping workers are finding it too hard to provide for their families with the wages they get, Jahangir said.

The BSWF demands include wage hike, ensuring safety in the river ways, and increasing the number of river ways.

Leaders of the federation Mahmud Hossain, Isa Miah, and Shahjahan Hawlader, among others, were present at the conference.