Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan has asked the vessel workers, who have been on strike to meet their 15-point demands since Wednesday, not to make the passengers and the vessel owners suffer.

The vessel owners on their turn should not be adamant in their attitude and consider the demands made by the workers, the minister said on Thursday at a programme in Dhaka’s Ashulia.

Vessel workers enforced the strike to meet their demands including an increase in their minimum wage. The workers want the monthly wage raised to Tk 8,250 with the current salary being Tk 4,100 per month.

Meanwhile the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads & Railways has urged the authorities to meet the 15 demands of the vessel workers.

National Committee adviser Manzurul Ahsan Khan and general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey called for this in a joint statement released Thursday. The green and civil rights body has long been campaigning for an environment- and public-friendly transport system.

To avoid public suffering, the Committee also urged the Labour and Shipping Ministries to take immediate steps to resolve the present crisis.

The Committee also supports the workers’ demands to stop extortion in the waterways, ensuring security, and appointment letters upon assuming jobs in the sector. It thus urged the government to take the steps necessary to resolve the present crisis.