Moulvibazar Correspondent 

On the occasion of the largest religious festival of Hindus, the Sharadiya Durga Puja, the Tea Workers’ Union has demanded full festival provisions for tea workers and wages consistent with current market rates. This demand was made during a meeting of the Moulvibazar District Committee of the Tea Workers’ Union at their office in Shamshernagar on Sunday night.

The meeting was presided over by the union’s District Committee Vice-President Madhu Rajak. 

Speeches were delivered by Bangladesh Trade Union Sangh Moulvibazar District Committee General Secretary Rajat Biswas, Tea Workers’ Union Moulvibazar District Committee Vice-President Shyamal Olmik, General Secretary Harinarayan Hazra, Joint General Secretary Subhash Gour, Organizational Secretary and women tea worker leader Laximini Bakti, Office Secretary Ramnarayan Gour, Publicity Secretary Kajal Hazra, and members Sunil Kor, Shobuj Bauri, Narayan Gorait, Bharati Mridha, among others.

The speakers stated that Sharadiya Durga Puja will begin on 28 September. However, many tea workers in various gardens have not yet received their festival bonuses this year. In some gardens, even if bonuses were provided, they were not paid in full. In gardens including Shamshernagar, Dewchara, Doblachara, and Chatalapur of Kamalganj Upazila, instead of full festival bonuses, attendance-based incentive bonuses were given, depriving workers of their rightful benefits. Although tea gardens have obtained special loan facilities from the government for bonus payments, they have not provided the rightful festival bonuses.

According to Section 2(2k) of the Bangladesh Labour Act—2006 (as amended to date) and Rule 111(5) of the Bangladesh Labour Rules—2015, it is mandatory to provide festival bonuses at equal rates to all workers performing the same work in any industry. Moreover, as per the Gazette of Minimum Wages in the tea industry (SRO No. 246—Law/2023) dated 10 August 2023, festival bonuses must be provided at equal rates to all workers. Tea garden authorities are violating these provisions and depriving workers.

Furthermore, although casual workers are entitled by law and contract to equal wages, most gardens pay them lower wages. With one week remaining until Durga Puja, Rajnagar tea gardens have still not paid bonuses, and even three weeks of back wages remain unpaid.

The leaders of the Tea Workers’ Union expressed frustration, stating that despite runaway inflation, on 7 August 2025, tea workers’ union leaders signed the 2023–2024 wage agreement with the Bangladesh Tea Board without any wage increase. This is unprecedented in the history of the tea industry. By disregarding workers’ interests after seven months of the prescribed period, the so-called leaders protected the owners’ interests as per past practice. At current market prices, the wages earned by a worker after a full day of labor are insufficient even to feed themselves three meals, let alone support their family.