The Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agents Association on Monday withdrew its week-long work stoppage at Chattogram port following assurances from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) that the increased gate pass fee for workers would be suspended.
Confirming the development, CPA secretary Md Omar Faruk said the decision came after Sunday鈥檚 meeting with transport owners and workers, where the increased entry fee for vehicles was suspended. Later in the evening, the gate pass fee for C&F employees was also suspended until further decision.
He added that there was no programme at the port on Monday. Normal operations had essentially resumed from Sunday evening, with import and export goods now being cleared and transported smoothly.
President of the C&F Agents Association, SM Saiful Alam, said, 鈥榃e were observing the work stoppage because the gate pass fee had been increased. We also continued our work stoppage on Sunday. Later, after the withdrawal of the increased vehicle gate pass fee, we held a meeting with the port secretary. Following the directive of the port chairman, the increased gate pass fee for us was also suspended. For that reason, we withdrew our programme on Sunday night. Delivery operations are now running in full swing.鈥�
The withdrawal came after the port authority announced suspension of the fourfold hike in entry fees for trucks, covered vans, and prime movers.
The C&F Agents Association had joined the broader movement initiated by the Port Users Forum, whose convener Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury had earlier announced week-long symbolic protests against the increased tariffs and warned of larger demonstrations if the fees were not withdrawn within a week.
More than 10,000 C&F workers are engaged in documentation and clearance of import and export goods at the Chattogram port. They usually enter the port using light vehicles. Under the revised tariff, the entry fee for such vehicles had been raised from Tk 23 to Tk 115.
The port authority had initially planned to implement the increased rates, including 37 per cent rise in container handling charges, on September 15 but deferred the time frame by one month due to the businesses鈥� objections to the rates.
