Truck strike called off

Secretariat Correspondent: The strike enforced by Bangladesh Goods Transport Owners Workers United Council has been called off till October 31 following assurance from Home Minister to meet their seven-point demand.

Talukdar Mohammad Monir, president of the council, confirmed the news after emerging from meeting with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

He said, “Home Minister assured us that he would talk over our demands with Prime Minister, Road Transport and Bridges Minister and Law Minister within October 31. We postponed the strike after the assurance. Truck, lorries and goods carriers will run from today (Tuesday).”

The strike was announced on Sunday to press home the organisation's seven-point demand, including making changes to the Road Transport Act-2018.

Parliament on September 19 passed the Road Transport Act amid criticism over lenient punishments for deaths caused by reckless driving.

One of the key demands made by the council was that truck owners and drivers would not accept the death penalty as drivers don't drive to kill people.

Other demands include unconditional release of all staffers arrested in connection with crashes, issuing proper driver's licence to all drivers of heavy vehicles and allowing drivers to drive trucks with light vehicles' driving licence until they are issued the one for heavy vehicles; ending police harassment and setting up truck terminals and stands at suitable locations with necessary facilities.

risingbd/Dhaka/October 09, 2018/Asad/A K Azad