Sylhet Bureau

Bangladesh Trade Union Association Sylhet district branch leaders and activists held a protest march in the city demanding immediate payment of outstanding wage-ration and payment of PF contribution to all the tea workers of the government-owned National Tea Company (NTC) in 12 tea gardens on Friday.

On this occasion, at 2 o'clock on November 15, they gathered at the Qin Bridge premises of the city and started the procession and circled Jindabazar. During the pre-march gathering, the speakers said that for almost 3 months, about 12,000 workers of 12 plantations of government-owned NTC are being forced to live an inhumane life without getting wage-ration. The workers have submitted memorandums to the interim government and have been on a continuous strike for the last 26 days, despite not getting any remedy. But the government is shaking.

About 40,000-50,000 people of NTC plantations are starving today without getting wages and ration. In the current time of unlimited rise in commodity prices, the tea workers have to spend half-starved on a daily wage of only 178.50 taka. If the wages and ration of the workers are stopped then the condition of the workers cannot be expressed in words. Although the interim government talks a lot, in reality the tea workers today realize that they have no one to stand by them in this difficult situation. Not only the plantations of NTC, but the workers of the entire tea industry are going through a tough time today.

Almost 2 years have passed since the tea workers' wages expired on December 31, 2022, but the wages for 2023-24 have not been fixed. In this regard, the current interim government is silent as in the past. Wages of tea workers are often withheld in many plantations. NTC, Deundi Tea Company, Sylhet Tea Company including Tarapur, Fultala, Imam-Bawani, Mominchara including privately owned tea plantation workers wages and ration are not being paid properly.

Again, the PF contributions of the tea workers are not being deposited in the fund office month after month. Tea workers are suffering from various discrimination in payment of wages. As per the law, the wages of casual workers are equal to those of permanent workers, but many plantations are paying lower wages and the festival bonus is equal to all workers, but workers are being cheated by paying bonuses based on attendance.

Owner-government and broker leaders are silent about all these deprivations of tea workers. Therefore, in this difficult time of the life and livelihood of tea workers, we must move forward in the path of establishing demands and rights by building a movement-struggle based on the lessons of the past. District Trade Union Sangh Acting President Abul Kalam Azad spoke in the meeting held under the chairmanship of Tea Workers Sangh Moulvibazar District Committee General Secretary Harinarayan Hazra, Women Tea Workers Lakshmi Rani Bakti, Hotel Workers Leader Sadek Mia, Samil Workers Leader Ruhul Amin, Jatiya Chhatra Dal Sylhet District. Convener of the committee Shubo Azad Shanto and others.

From the meeting, the tea-worker leaders need to live healthy and be active in production by calculating the cost of sustenance for a family of 6 members in accordance with the current market price, determining the minimum wage for the period 2023-2024 and in proportion to the weekly needs of a family of rice, flour, pulses, oil, Provision of full ration including sugar, soap, tea leaves, provision of land rights, casual leave (10 days in a year) in tea industry effective and enact a democratic labor law to eliminate discrimination in labor law including disparity in payment of accrued leave and stop all irregularities in payment of wages and festival bonuses on weekends and holidays, provide appointment letter, identity card, service book, regular payment of wage-ration to all tea garden workers with arrears of wages, every month.

A call to form a united movement to demand that all workers be made permanent after 90 days of work and deposit at the PF Chanda Fund office.