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Workers and labour organisations on Monday staged a sit-in in Chattogram, demanding cancellation of the process to award a proposed 15-year concession to an international operator to run and maintain the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and its overflow container yard at Chattogram Port.
The sit-in organised by the Chattogram Port Protection Committee began around 11:00am.
Leaders and activists of different labour organisations joined the programme in a procession. As the number of workers increased, vehicular movement on the road was halted for some time.
A large number of police personnel, port security officials and other law enforcement members were deployed at the site to maintain order.
Among those attending the programme were Tapan Dutta, president of the Chattogram district committee of the Trade Union Centre (TUC); Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, general secretary of the Chattogram divisional committee of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal; and Iftekhar Kamal Khan, joint secretary of the TUC Chattogram district committee.
Jatiyatabadi Dock Sramik Dal General Secretary Taslim Hossain Selim and other labour leaders also addressed the gathering.
The protesters said the NCT, built with Chattogram Port’s own funds, is the port’s most profitable terminal and should not be handed over to a foreign operator.
They argued that transferring a key facility of the country’s main seaport to a foreign company could threaten local workers’ employment and raise concerns over national security.
The labour leaders also claimed that Chattogram Port has the capacity to handle more cargo and generate higher revenues than any foreign operator.
They demanded that the NCT and its overflow yard remain under domestic control to protect workers’ jobs and safeguard national interests.
