The Sramik Karmachar Oikya Parishad (SCOP) launched a mass hunger strike at the Chittagong Press Club on Saturday morning, protesting plans to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Laldiar Char area of Chittagong Port to foreign operators.

Demanding the immediate cancellation of the proposal, SCOP leaders warned that leasing strategic port infrastructure to foreign entities threatens national sovereignty and public interest. They urged the interim government to abandon what they called an undemocratic decision carried forward from the previous administration.

Tapan Dutta, President of the Bangladesh Trade Union Center’s Chattogram branch, declared: “Our port is the lifeline of the economy and it cannot be handed over to foreign control.”

He warned that failure to revoke the plan could trigger citywide hartals, blockades, and broader industrial action.

Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, General Secretary of the Nationalist Labor Party’s Chattogram unit, emphasized that the state must protect public assets, not privatize them. He also called for free and fair elections and an end to alleged harassment of port workers through intimidating notices.

The protest was joined by prominent labor leaders, including SK Khoda Toton, Khorshedul Alam, Sh. M. Jamal Uddin, Taslim Hossain Selim, Machiuddaula, Rizwanur Rahman Khan, and Nurul Absar Touhid, signaling strong unity among worker organizations.