Tea workers continue strike, meet PM today

Workers of 232 tea gardens across Bangladesh continued their strike for the 18th day on Friday, pressing home their demand of a Tk180 daily pay hike.

The workers did not join work, but they did not stage any demonstrations.

There have been multiple meetings between the estate owners and the workers, but they have been unable to bear the desired result.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to meet with representatives from both sides at Ganabhaban on Saturday.

The tea workers said they would only return to work if the prime minister directed them to do so.

The movement started on August 9, when workers abstained from work for two hours, demanding Tk300 in daily wages. As their demand was not met, they decided to go on a full-scale strike on August 13.

After holding several meetings with tea garden owners and other stakeholders in the past two weeks, the tea workers’ union agreed to resume work from August 22 and get Tk 120 in wages for the time being, but that was rejected by the general workers.