The workers of 18 tea gardens of the National Tea Company have been on a strike for the last two weeks as they did not receive wages and rations for eight consecutive weeks.
All works in the 18 tea gardens that includes, Chondichhora, Parkul, Nasimabad, Satchhori, Teliyapara tea gardens in Habiganj district, Madhabpur, Padmachhara, Madanmahanpur, Patrokhola, Kurma, Baghachhora, Premnagar, Bijoya and Champaray tea gardens in Moulvibazar district, Lakkatura, Daldali and Keyachhari tea garden in Sylhet district, remained halted as a result.
In demand of their dues, the workers are holding protests at various locations every day. They are urging the authorities to address their demands and find solutions.
Nripen Pal, acting general secretary of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union said on Monday that tea production in all these 18 tea gardens is currently halted. Along with 15,000 permanent labourers, almost 70,000 people are dependent on the income generated from these tea gardens. As they are not getting any wage and ration for eight weeks, they have gone to a work strike for the last two weeks.
Last week, Abala Bauri, a worker from the Chandpur tea garden in Chunarughat, said, I have not been able to provide any food for my children for seven weeks because I did not receive any wages. My children are crying for food, and I cannot do anything to comfort them. I cannot afford to buy vegetables. I collected and cooked wild vegetables for a few days, but there are none left in the fields. When my children ask for money to go to school, I cannot give them any money. I have been working in the tea garden, drenched in rain and sun, for seven weeks, but I have not received any wages.
He also said that since birth, we have been involved with this tea garden. It is the source of our joys and our sorrows. We cannot think of anything outside of this tea garden. But if we cannot sustain our lives here, where will we go? If our wages are not paid regularly, we will be forced to escalate our protests. Do not compel us to take more severe actions.
Another worker from the same garden, Bijli Tati, said, we have been living in hunger and half-starvation for a long time, yet the management has not come to check on us even once. How long can we survive without any food?
Namita Munda, another female worker, said many workers have been buying groceries on debt from various shops. Now shopkeepers refuse to give us anything on debt. The tea garden only provides us with flour, but how can we survive on just that? How long can we live on tea and bread? When we receive our weekly wages, we buy groceries for a week. But having gone seven weeks without any wages, we have no way to cook anything in our house.
Santos Munda, a worker’s leader from the Jagdishpur tea garden, said, tea garden workers already struggle with poverty due to low wages. Now, without our salaries and allowances, we are forced to live in hunger.
Meanwhile, the company claims that the cost of tea production has increased, but sales in the auction market have not risen. As a result, they are facing annual losses. Due to these significant losses, the Agricultural Bank is no longer providing loans.
In this regard, General Manager of NTC, Md Emdadul Haque Mithu, stated that the Agricultural Bank usually approves garden loans in August every year. However, this year, due to the ongoing situation in the country, they are not approving or disbursing loans. The company’s board is trying to secure the funds, and as soon as they receive the loan amount, the dues of the workers will be settled.
