NEW DELHI - Dockworkers at Bangladesh’s main port will strike for eight hours on Wednesday to protest a new government attempt to allow a U. S. company to build a container terminal at the port.
An consortium of 22 trade unions announced the strike at the Port of Chittagong to press six demands, including cancellation of the agreement with Stevedoring Services of America Inc.
Trade union leaders said on Sunday they would not allow the private container terminal to be built because they feared it would “gobble up” state-owned Chittagong, which currently handles 80% of the country’s seaborne trade.
They said the Chittagong Port Authority had given its consent to the construction of the terminal by SSA Bangladesh Ltd. last Saturday.
The final agreement on the construction of the $500 million terminal has been delayed for more than two years because of stiff opposition from political parties and trade unions.
Other demands of the trade unions include withdrawal of corporate tax on the port.
