Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has failed to get striking truck drivers and owners to call off their protest.
The minister called truck workers and owners to his home in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi for a meeting on Saturday, the second day of a strike to protest an increase in diesel prices, reports bdnews24.com.
“We will only end our strike once the demands we have made are met,” Truck Driver Workers Federation President Talukder Md Monir said after the meeting.
The meeting included about 20 members of truckers' associations.
“The minister called us,” Monir said. “We put forward a list of demands, including a reversal of the fuel price hike, an end to bribes and the removal of excess bridge tolls. We will end the strike once they are accepted.”
Worker and owner leaders of truck, covered van and other freight associations were the first to go on strike on Friday after the government announced that the price of diesel would be raised by Tk 15. Bus owners’ organisations joined the strike later.
Buses and trucks have not been running throughout the country since Friday due to the strike. The strike is causing difficulties for commuters and is stalling the movement of freight.
The BRTA has set a meeting for Sunday to discuss a way out of the crisis.
The home minister spoke to truck owners and workers ahead of that meeting.
The home minister did not make an official statement on the discussion, but truck workers’ leader Monir said the home minister had promised to bring their proposals to the prime minister.
The minister may also meet with transport workers and owners on Saturday or Sunday, Monir said.