Concerted efforts of all government and non-government organizations concerned has become crucial to free the ethnic farm labourers from wage disparity.
Agricultural workers are still facing wage disparity in the region including its vast Barind tract for long. Apart from this, the condition of female labourers is worst compared to the male ones.
Some of the victimized labourers and social watchdogs revealed this recently while addressing a consultation workshop at Nachole Upazila Parishad hall room in Rajshahi.
Agriculture Sustainable and Socio-economic Development Organization (ASSEDO) organized the workshop in association with ‘Fighting Forced Labour with Adivasi and Dalit Communities in South Asia (MUKTEE) Project’.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shabiha Sultana, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Khatiza Begum, Project Consultant Dr Golam Sarwar Talukder and ASSEDO Executive Director Rabiul Alam addressed the meeting as focal persons with Upazila Vice-chairman Jannatun Nayeem in the chair.
Terming the existing wage disparity as detrimental to human rights the speakers unanimously discussed and devised ways and means on how to halt the malpractice collectively.
Upazila Vice-chairman Rejaul Karim, Agriculture Officer Bulbul Ahmed, Social Service Officer Al Galib, Livestock Officer Sarmin Akter and Youth Development Officer Mijanur Rahman also spoke.
The ASSEDO has been implementing the MUKTEE Project with financial and technical support of European Union and Traidcraft Exchange aimed at addressing the systemic and structural vulnerabilities of marginalized agricultural communities for eliminating the menace of child labour.
The three-year project is being implemented in 30 villages under Tanore Upazila in Rajshahi and Nachole Upazila in Chapainawabganj districts.
Around 4,000 ethnic minority people including 2,000 women have been engaged in various income-generating activities in 50 villages of Tanore in Rajshahi and Nachole in Chapainawabganj districts.
A total of 1000 people from 2000 households have, so far, brought under need-based training on various trades and vocations like electrics, mobile, mechanic, sewing, tailoring, computer operating, beautification, driving, carpentry and building construction in phases.
Rabiul Alam said the trained youths were given different income-generating inputs including cash taka aimed at boosting their level of confidence through making them self-reliant.
Of them, 145 got building construction instruments, 80 electrical and house wearing, 68 Mobile servicing equipment, 60 beef fattening, 50 tailoring, 55 tiles fitting materials and 40 goat rearing inputs.
At least 20 of the beneficiaries have got jobs in different private sectors and are doing their work successfully.
