Perhaps few countries in the world allow wildcat strikes in services related to people's urgent needs, especially those involving medical treatment. Rescue operations are also kept outside the purview of work stoppages. In the present rights-conscious world, strikes in varied areas of public interest are commonplace. Operational dislocation in some of these areas generally results in great sufferings of the common people. The recent strike in the country by suppliers and importers of anti-blockage stents required by post-angioplasty patients was distressing. Protests such as these at government hospitals cause sufferings to low-income patients. The reason behind the action was mundane: the suppliers' fear of monetary losses in the business of supplying the life-saving stents. They protested the anomalies in prices of the critical medical device. The drug administration authorities later fixed the prices of different categories of stents.Â
Wildcat strikes by doctors, nurses and other medical staff are routine scenario at Bangladesh public hospitals. These work stoppages are generally sparked by doctor-patient or doctor-nurse face-offs. In most cases they involve patients' death due to negligence and wrong treatment. Lodging cases against the erring doctors is largely a least practised and widely shunned step in this country. The solution thus lies with giving vent to the grievances by physical means. A section of excessively mercurial people thus resort to violence. Invariably, a wildcat strike follows. If it is not mediated by the authorities concerned, a strike keeps dragging on to the woes of innocent patients. Demands for pay hike, promotion, posts' upgrading etc also play a critical role in making the hospital people incensed enough to call strikes.
Calling a strike falls among the basic rights in a democratic country. It's similar to the right to freedom of expression. In the view of the state, it is the people entitled to forming trade unions who can call strikes. Perhaps taking recourse to this provision, almost all sectors in Bangladesh nowadays are seen calling stoppages routinely. The tool of strikes to press demands and thus demonstrate pent-up grievances proves effective in most cases. The government or the other higher authorities finally give in to the striking groups, barring a few cases of exception. Meanwhile, in the often-protracted agitations lots of innocent people are taken hostage. When school teachers call strikes for their jobs' official recognition or salary hike, classroom lessons of the students remain hampered. In the long run, the dislocation in their studies leaves a negative impact on the students' careers.Â
Calling wildcat or indefinite strikes to realise demands, often deemed illogical, has long become a potent weapon for workers and professionals in various sectors. They include mill and factory workers, those in the transport and other service sectors, employees and officials at different kinds of offices and enterprises. Problems crop up when the demands of a certain group appear to be flimsy. Lately, the right to call strikes is seen being blatantly abused. To many, an illogical strike finally turns out to be a medium of virtual coercion.
In spite of the abuses, strikes continue to be called throughout the world. In the global landscape, work stoppages at international airports these days are a common scenario. These strikes are generally called by airport ground staff including front desk people to cargo handlers to even pilots. Â Hunger strikes and boycott --- the non-cooperation movement, Â called by Gandhi and Bangabandhu in different periods, have played massive roles in freeing the subcontinent from British colonial rule and the creation of Bangladesh. Those strikes were spurred by great ideals. The first ever strike in modern history was called by coal miners in England in 1842. It echoed in the May Day movement in Chicago, USA, in 1886. Legitimate demands have been at play in all strikes since the beginning. Manipulating this spirit for petty interest is like trifling with the right to strike.
shihabskr@ymail.com
Of strikes and people\'s sufferings
Shihab Sarkar | Published: April 22, 2017 21:12:17 | Updated: October 22, 2017 12:09:11
Of strikes and people\'s sufferings
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