Staff Reporter :
The wages of the tea garden workers have increased by Tk25 to make it Tk 145 daily amid a strike they were observing for eight days.
Accepting the new wages, the leaders of Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Union (BTWU) called off the pre-announced strike on the Prime Minister’s assurance, but the general workers have rejected the fresh decision.
Moulvibazar Deputy Commissioner Mir Nahid Ahsan on Saturday said the daily wage of tea workers has been increased from Tk 120 to Tk 145, on the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The DC said this at a meeting held in the Office of the Department of Labour at Sreemangal, Moulvibazar. Local Lawmaker Abdus Shaheed, Director General of Department of Labour Khaled Mamun Chowdhury and Superintendent of Police Mohammad Zakaria, among others, were present in the meeting.
Nahid Ahsan said, “The Prime Minister’s Office contacted us. Based on the prime minister’s assurance, the tea workers have accepted this wage and will join work from tomorrow (Sunday).”
“They (tea workers) also sought the prime minister’s intervention. They want to talk to the PM. I have reported the matter to the PMO secretary. He said in 10-15 days, there will be a Zoom meeting with the workers,” he added.
Nripen Pal, acting General Secretary of the BTWU, said they agreed to withdraw the strike for the time being on the assurance of the Prime Minister and all workers will join work from Sunday.
“We have come to know that the Prime Minister will sit with us after coming back from her visit to India. We will place our demands before her during the meeting,” he said.
Meanwhile, the tea workers expressed anger at the leaders’ decision to withdraw the strike accepting the proposed pay hike of only Tk25.
Defying the decision, they started chanting slogans in front of the divisional office of the Labour Department in Sri Mangal.
They said they will continue the strike until their demands including a wage hike to Tk300 per day are met.
Anjan Goala, a tea garden worker, said, “How can we call off the strike with a hike of Tk25 when we have a demand for Tk300 from the existing 120?”
He questioned how a family can survive with daily pay of Tk145 only.
Moulvibazar-4 Lawmaker Abdus Shaheed said the Prime Minister is very cordial for the tea workers.
“I am here today on her order. The tea garden owners wanted to increase the wages by Tk20. The Prime Minister herself has given instructions to increase by Tk5 more,” he said.
“The Prime Minister will sit with the tea workers after her visit to India and discuss their demands,” he added.
The tea garden workers on August 9, 2022, enforced a two-hour work abstention (9:00 am to 11:00 am) daily demanding a pay hike. After four days, the workers of 167 tea gardens went on indefinite work abstention.
The workers of all the tea gardens in the country started an indefinite strike last Saturday demanding a daily wage of Tk300.
