TDS Desk:

While figures exist for the number of labour organisations in Bangladesh’s transport sector, an accurate count of owner groups is unavailable. Three main umbrella groups operate separately at the national level: the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association, the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners’ Association and the Bangladesh Covered Van Truck Owners’ Association. Within their umbrella, however, officials say multiple organisations exist in every district. Beyond these, separate bodies also represent non-mechanised transport such as hand-pulled carts, rickshaws and vans, as well as locally-made vehicles like the “Nosimon-Korimon”.

The total number of owner and worker organisations in the country’s road transport sector stands at 932, according to the labour ministry. These organisations’ primary source of income is “donation” collected from vehicles, which they say covers operational and management costs. But many in the industry believe the sums spent are negligible compared with the money collected — much of which is pocketed.

Investigation and research have also implicated a wide range of actors beyond owner-worker groups in transport-sector extortion. Multiple studies and investigation reports point to politically influential figures, city corporations, municipalities, various local authorities, many members of law enforcement agencies and even some government officials.

No official data exists on the total amount extorted by owner-worker groups in Bangladesh’s transport sector. A government intelligence agency estimates BDT 22.1 million is extorted across Dhaka daily, mostly collected under the banner of transport owner and worker associations. Multiple sources say every type of commercial vehicle pays “donation” to operate, with rates ranging from BDT 10 to several thousand a day, depending on the vehicle.

The organisations themselves told journalists that labour groups collect BDT 30 and owner groups BDT 40 per vehicle. Leaders of both sides claim though that collection has ceased since August 5, 2024.

Sources among those leaders say the money funds transport management, organisational expenses and union bosses’ honorariums. Sector insiders, however, say spending is negligible compared with the sums collected. They argue much of the proceeds has no identifiable destination and is effectively split between labour and owner leaders, with a cut reserved for political figures and administrative officials with influence over the sector.

Nearly all road transport labour organisations operate under the Bangladesh Sramik Federation. The federation was long dominated by Shajahan Khan, a central leader of the now-banned Awami League. After the party’s fall, federation sources say control passed to BNP-aligned labour leaders.

The federation’s current president, Abdur Rahim, told journalists that the union rate is BDT 30, while the federation’s prescribed rate is BDT 10. “Though we can collect this from buses, we haven’t been able to collect it from trucks for five years,” he said.

Asked what this “donation” covers, the federation’s president said union leaders receive honorariums and there are organisational expenses. Running the federation costs BDT 800,000 to BDT 900,000 a month, he added, but collection has been suspended for more than 18 months. “We are effectively running the organisation on subsidies,” he said.

On allegations of extortion by transport worker groups, Abdur Rahim said the donation rate is a modest BDT 10 or BDT 30. He argued “real extortion” occurs under the banner of owners’ associations. “Take the 100-mile Khulna–to–Kushtia route. The owners’ association charges about BDT 3,000 for a round trip. That huge amount is taken by the owners, not the labour federation. And it isn’t just Khulna–Kushtia, this kind of donation is collected everywhere.”

The most influential owners’ organisation in Bangladesh’s transport sector is the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association. During the Awami League era, it was led by Khondakar Enayet Ullah, owner of Ena Transport. After the party’s fall, Saiful Alam, regarded as a BNP-aligned transport owner, took charge.

Asked about allegations that the association extorts large sums on highways, the organisation’s general secretary, Saiful Alam, told journalists: “The claim isn’t true and money collected on the roads is being misrepresented. Transport companies have to spend on terminal management. Every company has operational costs — covering office staff, waybills, ticketing, counter masters, serial managers and vehicle maintenance crews. That money is collected from transport operations. Companies and owners cover these costs by mutual agreement. This is not extortion in any way.”

Alam said that on long-distance routes, no money is collected in the association’s name except at starting and ending points. “An industry has costs. We recover those costs from the vehicles.”

All collections in the association’s name, he added, have been suspended since August 5, 2024. “In the past, arbitrary extortion was carried out in the association’s name. We stopped everything after August 5. Now an elected government is in place. We want to sit down and fix a set rate for the association.”

A study by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) found that privately owned buses and minibuses alone face annual extortion of BDT 10.59 billion, with owners and workers taking a share.

Another major owner group is the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners’ Association. It has no district-level branches outside Jashore and Satkhira. Its general secretary, Shuvankar Ghosh Rakesh, who is also managing director of Shyamoli NR Travels, said the association does not collect money or donation from any transport.

Asked who is collecting on the roads if the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association has halted collections and his own group takes nothing, Rakesh said: “It isn’t the Labour Federation or the Owners’ Association. Fly-by-night organisations are taking money from transport. They have no valid papers. But they’re very powerful. I just saw it myself yesterday (Tuesday) at the Darus Salam intersection in Gabtali. A man suddenly appeared, took money from a small vehicle and left. We don’t know who he works for or who deployed him. People like this are collecting from transport all over the country. We ordinary owners are the biggest victims of this.”

Under the now-ousted Awami League government, the main powerbrokers in the road transport sector were former Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Awami League leader Khondakar Enayet Ullah, and Jatiyo Party leader Mashiur Rahman Ranga. Since the Awami League’s fall, sources say, the influence of Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas — a lawmaker and chief coordinator of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal — has grown in the sector.

Asked about extortion in the transport sector, Shimul Biswas told journalists: “For nearly four decades, I’ve been working in the transport sector. The biggest problem is illegal extortion,” he said. “This extortion isn’t done by owners or workers; influential individuals collect this money.”

He further said, “Bangladesh is a small country with a vast population. The chaos in our transport sector causes suffering for everyone. It’s a national problem, and we must solve it together. The sector needs to be more people-friendly. We have to ensure there is no chaos or public suffering. As for extortion, we officially stopped it after August 5 (2024). What happens now is beyond my knowledge. I am strenuously opposed to it.”