Khulna jute mill workers continue strike

The indefinite strike enforced by the employees of seven state-owned jute mills in the district to press home their five-point demand entered the eighth day on Monday, reports news agency UNB.

The workers of the mills took position at different places of the city around 6:00am and blocked Khulna-Jessore highway and Khulna-Jessore rail route.
The blockade halted vehicular movement on the highway and train service on the rail route, causing immense sufferings to passengers.

The CBA and non-CBA Oikya Parishad of the seven jute mills - Crescent Jute Mills, Platinum Jute Mills, Khalispur Jute Mills, Star Jute Mills, Eastern Jute Mills, Jessore Jute Mills and Carpeting Jute Mills - enforced the strike on 4 April.

Besides enforcing the strike at the jute mills from 6:00am-2:00pm over the last eight days till 4 April, the workers also kept on blocking road and rail routes till 7 April.

However, they withdrew their road and rail blockade programme on 7 April giving an ultimatum to the deputy commissioner to take effective steps to meet their demands by Sunday.

On Monday morning, they resumed the road and rail route blockade and declared to continue their strike at the workstations from 6:00am-6:00pm every d ay.

The demands of the workers include adequate allocation for the jute industry, payment of their arrears, formation of a wage board and stopping the move to privatise the state-owned jute mills.

Earlier on 16 March, they had given the government on 3 April deadline to meet their demands.