Bangladesh Covered Van-Truck Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners’ Association has announced they will continue their strike, called after last week's diesel price hike, until their demands are met.
The organization's Additional Secretary General Abdul Motaleb confirmed the development at a press conference in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon.
The organization made three demands -- withdrawal of increased price of diesel and kerosene, withdrawal of increased toll of Jamuna and Muktarpur bridges, and stopping extortion at all city corporations and municipalities in the name of toll.
Motaleb said: "Every sector across the country depends on fuel oil. If the price of oil goes up, it will affect everything. Oil price hikes were not discussed with us.”
He further said the government should have increased the price after consulting with them.
“We will not deliver products at a loss. That’s why we have stopped shipping goods. We want this issue resolved through dialogue,” he added.
Their call came around the same time public transport owners met with BRTA top brass and struck a deal that saw the bus fares on long-route and metropolitan areas go up by 26.5% and 27%, respectively, on Sunday afternoon.
On Wednesday, the government had increased the diesel and kerosene prices by Tk15 per litre — from Tk65 to Tk80 — in order to keep them in line with rising fuel prices in the international market.
Protesting the sudden hike, different associations of public and cargo transport owners and workers on Friday Morning launched the strike for an indefinite period, inconveniencing commuters and businesses across the country.
