‘Free BRTA offices of corruption’

Jatiya Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation - a platform of transport workers across the country – on Friday placed a seven-point charter of demands, including freeing all offices of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) of corruption.

The federation leaders also called on all transport workers to stop their unannounced work abstention and return to work.

Other demands include providing dress and certificates to transport workers, providing them appointment letters as per the government rules, stopping all kinds of extortion and setting up of road dividers on all highways.

They also demanded considering the safety issues while constructing highways, stopping jaywalking, setting up first aid centres for both workers and passengers and giving facilities to workers' children to study with half tuition fee till higher secondary education.

Speaking at a press briefing at the federation's office in Gabtoli, its President Mostakur Rahman said that actions should be taken against the "so-called" leaders who extort money in the name of workers.

He further said, according to the labour law, every worker is supposed to get an appointment letter and identity card, but more than 50 lakh transport workers have neither their appointment letters nor identity cards.

The federation's president mentioned that there are 40 lakh registered vehicles in the country. "But the number of licensed drivers are 27 lakh. Under the influence of some unscrupulous BRTA officers and brokers, about 13 lakh drivers are being forced to drive without licences."

He observed that it would not be easy to implement the Road Transport Act, 2018 without making the BRTA offices corruption-free.

Mostakur Rahman also called for reforming the BRTA and providing the transport workers with all the facilities as per the labour law.