Fifteen employees of Chittagong Port, including two coordinators, have been transferred to Mongla Port in Khulna and Payra Port in Patuakhali amid ongoing protests against the leasing of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to a foreign operator. The transfer was ordered on Monday through an official directive issued by the Ministry of Shipping.
The directive, signed by Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, Md. Belayet Hossain, stated that the transfers were made “for administrative necessity with prior posting assignments.” Of the 15 employees, eight have been assigned to Payra Port, while seven have been sent to Mongla Port.
Previously, three separate orders had transferred these employees to the Kamalapur Container Depot in Dhaka and the Pangao Naval Terminal in Keraniganj. However, the employees did not report to these posts. On Monday, they were reassigned once again and officially attached to the two ports.
The transfers come against the backdrop of widespread protests by port workers opposing the government’s decision to lease NCT to DP World, a UAE-based company. Since Saturday, the protesting employees have been staging eight-hour work stoppages each day. On Monday, the third day of the movement, operations at Chittagong Port were disrupted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Chittagong Port Protection Action Committee has called for a continuous 24-hour strike starting Tuesday, demanding the cancellation of the lease and the reversal of the transfers.
According to the Ministry of Shipping order, Md. Humayun Kabir, coordinator of the Chittagong Port Protection Action Committee as well as the Nationalist Port Workers’ Party, has been transferred to Mongla Port, while another coordinator, Md. Ibrahim Khokon, has been moved to Payra Port. The remaining 13 employees have also been reassigned as follows:
| Sl. No | Employee Name | New Posting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Md. Faridur Rahman | Mongla Port |
| 2 | Mohammad Shafi Uddin | Mongla Port |
| 3 | Rashidul Islam | Payra Port |
| 4 | Abdullah Al Mamun | Payra Port |
| 5 | Md. Zahirul Islam | Mongla Port |
| 6 | Khandakar Masuduzzaman | Payra Port |
| 7 | Md. Humayun Kabir | Mongla Port |
| 8 | Md. Shakil Raihan | Payra Port |
| 9 | Manik Mizhi | Mongla Port |
| 10 | Md. Shamsu Mia | Payra Port |
| 11 | Md. Liakat Ali | Payra Port |
| 12 | Aminur Rasul Bulbul | Mongla Port |
| 13 | Md. Rabbani | Payra Port |
| 14 | Md. Ibrahim Khokon | Payra Port |
| 15 | Md. Humayun Kabir | Mongla Port |
Ibrahim Khokon, coordinator of the Chittagong Port Protection Action Committee, the transfers were intended to suppress the ongoing protest programme. He added that the movement would intensify, with demands for the cancellation of the NCT lease and the reversal of the employee transfers remaining central to the campaign.
Port authorities, through these administrative measures, aim to maintain operational continuity, but the protesting employees have indicated that the struggle will continue and the campaign will be further strengthened.