Tea workers of the state-owned National Tea Company are on an indefinite strike demanding wage arrears.
The workers of 16 tea gardens of the country have been on strike for more than a week demanding their wages without attending work.
Tea workers are living an inhumane life as they are not getting their wage arrears, the workers said.
About 17 thousand tea workers work in these gardens while another 30,000 people depend on them for their livelihood.
The labour leaders of various NTC tea plantations in Kamalganj of Moulvibazar held a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union on October 20 and are observing this strike from the morning of October 21.
The tea workers said that they were owed 6 weeks鈥� wages and were living an inhuman life.
The workers said that if the employers did not pay their dues, they would not join the work.
Moulvibazar has seven tea gardens out of 16 tea gardens under the ownership of National Tea Company.
Pradeep Pal, the youth leader of Patrakhola tea plantation, said that the workers were owed 6 weeks鈥� wages. 鈥楤efore the last Durga Puja, the authorities said that they would give wages. But we were not given any wages,鈥� Pradeep said.
Geeta Rani Kanu, a female leader of the tea workers of the Kurma tea garden, said, 鈥業n the Kurma tea garden, residents were suffering a lot due to price hikes of essential commodities. Tk 170 wage per day is not in line with the current market.鈥�
Organising secretary of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union Bijay Hazra said that the workers who worked for a daily wage of Tk 170 had to face problems if they did not get a week鈥檚 wages.
They do not get wages for a total of six weeks, Bijoy said.
鈥業 am requesting the government to take quick initiative to solve the problem,鈥� he said.
Terming the workers鈥� demand as logical, National Tea Company general manager Emdadul Haque said that they were making every effort to pay the wages of the workers.
鈥業f the workers continue the strike, the tea estates will suffer a lot. Efforts are on to resolve the problem of wages,鈥� he added.
Moulvibazar deputy commissioner Israel Hossain said that the National Tea Company asked for an allocation of 30 kilogrammes of VGF rice for the tea garden workers.
鈥楾he NTC did not have a chairman. The new chairman has joined and the new board of directors of Krishi Bank has been formed. I hope everything will be resolved within this week,鈥� the DC said.