Tea workers go on strike

Tea workers from across Bangladesh, including those in Chattogram and Sylhet, went on an indefinite strike on Saturday responding to Bangladesh Tea Workers Union’s call demanding a pay increase.

They said they were demanding a Tk180 increase in their daily wage – from Tk120 to Tk300 – in light of the recent price hikes.

Bangladesh Tea Workers Union Finance Secretary Paresh Kalindi confirmed that around 1.5 lakh workers of 231 tea gardens across the country have begun observing the strike since this morning.

Meanwhile, at around 12pm, some 2,000 tea garden workers blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet regional highway for an hour.

Calling it a rational demand, Union's Vice-President Pankaj Kanda urged the tea estate owners to adjust the daily wage in accordance with the current market price.

Bangladesh Tea Workers Union central Organising Secretary Bijoy Hajra said that the movement will be suspended for the next two days due to the general weekend and national mourning day (15 August).

"We will convene today to decide upon our next move," he added.

Earlier on Friday, tea workers observed a two-hour work abstention for the fourth straight day at Moulvibazar demanding a daily wage of Tk300 due to the price hike of daily essentials.

Bangladesh is producing a record amount of tea every year through the toil of the tea workers. In 2021, a record 96 million kilograms of tea was produced in the country thanks to the hard labour of the underpaid tea workers. Although two agreements on increasing the wages have been implemented, the fate of more than 1.5 lakh tea workers in the country hasn't changed a bit.

Leaders of tea workers said that the authorities concerned did not pay any heed to our demand for the past two years though there is a norm to renew the contract between two years, but no practical steps have been taken yet, forcing us to go for a movement.

Bangladesh Tea Workers Union Monu Daloi Valley committee general secretary Nirmol Das Painka said, "We have submitted our written demands of 120 points including a daily wage of Tk300, proper health care and sanitation facilities but effective initiatives weren't taken even after continuous discussion with the wage board."