The Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association and Sramik Kalyan Federation have declared a 72-hour nationwide strike beginning 6am on August 12 unless their eight-point demands are met by August 11.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Owner-Worker Coordination Council has submitted memorandums to all relevant ministries and advisers with key demands, including extending the economic lifespan of commercial vehicles from 20-25 years to 30 years.
At a Thursday afternoon meeting at Sylhet Central Bus Terminal, President of the Owners Association’s Executive Committee MA Baten, outlined their demands: Amend sections 98 and 105 of the Road Transport Act 2018, suspend crackdowns on older vehicles until their economic lifespan is extended to 30 years, reduce doubled advance income tax on commercial vehicles to previous rates, extend import age limit for reconditioned commercial vehicles from 5 to 12 years, implement 72-hour accident vehicle release policy, establish scrap policy for expired vehicles, create separate highway lanes for three-wheelers/unapproved light vehicles, and expedite driver’s license processing and implement Sramik Kalyan Federation’s 12-point demands.
The speakers noted recent government directives which have removed 20-25-year-old buses/trucks from roads, destabilising the transport sector in the process, prompting their July 20 ultimatum for 15 working days to address these issues.
They urged resolution by August 11 to avoid the complete suspension of all bus, truck, covered van, goods transport and light vehicle operations nationwide from August 12-15 – a move they describe as necessary to protect passenger and goods transportation systems.