Tea pickers continue strike

Tea garden workers resume to strike demanding a wage hike to Tk300 on Tuesday disobeying the decision of the leaders of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union. Rail communication with the Sylhet region remained suspended after protesting tea garden workers blocked the railway track in Kulaura of Moulvibazar demanding a wage hike to Tk300. 

Agitating tea pickers halted the Sylhet-bound Paharika Express near Chowmuhani rail line at 4pm on Tuesday, Sylhet Railway Station Manager Nurul Islam said.

They were chanting slogans in favour of their demand blocking the railway track as of filing this report at 5.30pm.

Shubho Munda, a tea worker who participated in the blockade, said we took the move as the authorities are yet to meet our demand for which we are in protest for 14 days.

The workers of 23 tea gardens in Habiganj's Lashkarpur Valley are pressing ahead with their strike to secure an increase in their daily wage from Tk 120 to Tk 300 a day.

Workers rallied at Chunarughat Upazila's Chanpur Tea Plantation on Monday and launched a protest march around 10:30 am to reiterate their demand for a pay rise.

"We have been demonstrating since the morning. Workers from different tea estates joined us. We will continue to demonstrate until the daily wage is raised to Tk 300," said Khairun Akhter, president of a group representing women tea plantation workers.

She hit out at labour leaders for striking an agreement with tea estate owners 'under the cover of night' and asking workers to go back to the plantations for Tk 120 a day. "Ordinary workers demand that the leaders come up to them and tell them to return to work. But they are not facing the workers."

Earlier on Monday, Habiganj Deputy Commissioner Ishrat Jahan promised the workers of 23 tea gardens in the Lashkarpur Valley that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would virtually address their demands before the Durga Puja holiday. But the workers were not swayed by the assurance.

On Tuesday, representatives of the disgruntled workers said they would announce a decision on whether the strike would continue after a discussion with Tea Garden Panchayat Committee leaders in the afternoon.

"Labour leaders reached an agreement with the Moulvibazar district administration in the dark of night without informing us. So the workers are angry,” said Chanpur Tea Garden Panchayat chief Sadhan Santal.

Asked about the matter, Nripen Pal, acting general secretary of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, said, “A group is making these allegations to create instability. I hope to discuss the issue with the panchayat leaders of Habiganj's Lashkarpur Valley and get the workers back to work."

More than 1.5 lakh tea workers in 166 tea gardens in the country started the movement at the beginning of this month demanding an increase in daily wages from Tk120 to Tk300. They went on work abstention for two hours a day for four days from 9 August. On 13 August, they started a full-day strike and protest. The agitating workers also blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet highway for a few hours.