Extortion at Chattogram port Tk 2-2.5 crore daily, adviser says

Extortion occurs at every corner of Chattogram port, according to Labour Adviser Brig Gen (retired) M Sakhawat Hussain, who estimates the daily amount at Tk 2 crore to Tk 2.5 crore.

"That is the minimum. The amount could be even higher," the adviser told journalists at his Secretariat office in Dhaka yesterday.

He said, "The port is somewhat like the golden goose; everyone wants to slaughter it quickly and take everything out."

When asked whether he had managed to stop the extortion, Hussain said, "It has decreased a lot."

Pressed on whether it was possible to end the practice entirely, he replied, "Is it possible to stop it entirely in Bangladesh?"

Hussain said transport stands inside the port had been removed, but extortion continued outside, near bus and truck stands, where people collected money after being displaced from the port.

Turning to labour reforms, he said the government had amended the labour law with an ordinance on November 17, allowing domestic workers and agricultural labourers to form trade unions.

"The amendment aligns our labour law with international standards, responding to pressure from the European Union, the United States and the International Labour Organization (ILO)," he said.

The changes also extended maternity leave for female workers from 112 days to 120 days and lowered the threshold for forming a trade union to 20 workers, making it easier for workers to organise.

Hussain said the government has ratified ILO Conventions 155, 187 and 190 to strengthen workers' rights. The country is the second in Asia to ratify all ten fundamental ILO conventions and the only nation in South Asia to ratify Convention 190.

He added that the government has set minimum wages for seven sectors and is in the process of setting wages for seven more. Work is underway to set the minimum pay for 21 sectors in total.