RSF concerned over vulnerable state of transport workers

NEWS DESK

Road Safety Foundation (RSF) has expressed concern over the vulnerable condition of transport workers as they remain jobless amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The organisation urged the government and transport owners to provide necessary financial and food supports to the workers before Eid-ul-fitr.

RSF chairman Professor Dr AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, vice-president Jyotirmoy Barua, executive director Saidur Rahman made the plea in a statement on Tuesday.

They said the country's 4.5 million transport workers are living in miserable condition along with their families because of non-operation of public transport since March 26 last.

They are not getting any assistance from Transport Owners-Workers' Association during the present crisis; nor is there any leader beside them, the RSF leaders observed.

There is not visible such workers' welfare fund that was formed from the contribution of workers, they viewed and posed a question whether any such fund exists or not in reality?

More than 0.8 million registered commercial vehicles are there in the country. Of the total, buses and minibuses are around 80,000.

Owners- Workers Association takes Tk 70 from each of the vehicles as toll a day. Of the amount, Tk 40 goes to the owners' association while workers' association gets Tk 30.

If it is calculated, the amount will be more than Tk 20 billion that is collected by the associations a year, the RSF statement said.