Tea workers block highway demanding pay rise to Tk300

The workers of 24 tea plantations in Habiganj have once again blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway to press home their demand for a daily wage of Tk 300.

They descended on the Muktijoddha Square at the highway's Jagadishpur point on Sunday to show their disapproval of the government's proposal to increase wages by Tk 25 to Tk 145.

The demonstrations caused a 3-km tailback on the highway as additional police personnel were deployed to handle the situation.

Nripen Pal, acting general secretary of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, said the plan to raise the daily wage to Tk 145 was announced at a meeting between tea estate workers and the administration in Sreemangal on Saturday.

But workers of Habiganj's Lashkarpur Valley rejected the proposal.

“They didn't accept it. They are demanding that the wages be increased to Tk 300. The workers of 24 tea gardens in Habiganj have blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway to press for the demand," said Nripen.

Madhabpur Police Station chief Golam Kibria said efforts are being made to restore order by pacifying the workers.

Earlier, workers from dozens of tea estates in the region launched an indefinite strike over the wage dispute.

As the matter remained at an impasse, thousands of tea plantation workers took to the streets in protest and vowed to continue demonstrating until the owners accepted their demands.

The strike raised concerns within the industry as it came during what is considered to be the peak season for tea harvesting.

Tea estate owners initially proposed to increase the daily wage to Tk 140, a Tk 20 rise, but the workers rejected it.

Although it appeared that a breakthrough had been reached on Saturday, 12 days into the strike, the latest round of protests presents a fresh setback.

Wages are typically discussed during a meeting between the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union and the Bangladeshi Tea Parliament every two years. An agreement is signed after a consensus is reached and it forms the basis of the workers' salaries and allowances for the next two years.

The last two-year contract expired in December 2020. Afterwards, the Tea Workers Union asked the Bangladeshi Tea Parliament for a daily wage of Tk 300 on Jan 19, 2021. As many as 13 meetings between the two parties followed but the workers were no closer to having their demands met.

Later on Aug 3, labour leaders issued a one-week ultimatum for a wage hike. But the owners paid no heed to it.

In protest, the workers observed a two-hour strike in tea gardens across the country from Aug 9. As the owners refused to budge, the workers went on an indefinite strike.