Light vehicle drivers demand Tk25,000 minimum wage

Drivers of light vehicles including private cars and microbus have urged the government to form a wage board, with a minimum Tk25,000 monthly wage, for them considering soaring prices of daily commodities and rising living costs.

The Dhaka District Taxi, Taxi Car, Auto-tempo, Auto-rickshaw Drivers and Workers' Union put forward the demand at a protest rally in front of the national press club on Friday.

Their demands include – ensuring rights recognised by the labour law, providing appointment letter and identity card for private car drivers, ensuring welfare benefits including food allowance and effective role of the department of labour to implement the labour law.

Ahsan Habib Bulbul, general secretary of the union, said a continued price hike of essential commodities made the life and livelihood of light vehicle drivers tough. But the mental pressure free life of drivers is the key to maintain discipline in roads.

"Therefore, we demand to form a wage board and immediate action to implement all rights mentioned in the labour law," he said.

He also said there are more than five lakh light vehicle drivers in Dhaka city. Most of them are deprived of rights, stipulated in labour law, including daily working hours, weekly and yearly earned leaves, job security and compensation.

Ahsan Habib Bulbul further said the state does not take any responsibility to realise the due wages upon termination of drivers by the vehicle owners.

Speakers at the rally raised a question that why should the drivers obey the laws when no government agency takes responsibility for realising unpaid wages and other dues of the drivers?

They demanded immediate appointment of an authority responsible for implementation of labour rights including realisation of legal dues of drivers and workers who are not given appointment letters.

In the rally, participants demanded the arrest of those owners like Pioneer Denim Deputy General Manager Zakir Hossain, who embezzle workers' wages, violate the law and ignore the administration, using the name of influential relatives in the public services.

Union's Assistant Secretary Alamgir Hosssain, Organising Secretary Habibur Rahman also spoke at the rally, with its Vice President Biresh Chandra Das in the chair.