Tea workers resume indefinite strike demanding pay hike
They demanded their daily wage be raised to Tk300 from Tk120
Tea gardens workers have resumed their indefinite strike in all the tea gardens of the country from today after a two-day halt for the National Mourning Day.
The labourers, who get paid Tk120 a day, said the work abstention will go on in 167 tea gardens across the country until their daily wage increases to Tk300.
The announcement came after a meeting with the Labour Division ended without any decision on pay increase on Tuesday (16 August) morning.
Labour Division Director General Khaled Mamun Chowdhury and Bangladesh Tea Workers Union President Makhan Lal Karmaker, Vice-President Pankaj Kandam, General Secretary Nipen Pal along with the branch heads of seven tea valleys attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) on Tuesday expressed their solidarity with the protesting tea labourers.
Echoing the wage hike demand, SUST students organised a human chain in front of SUST central library.
Sammilita Sangskritik Jote coordinator Ifratul Hasan Rahim said, "Tea workers are contributing to the country's economy but they are not rewarded properly. Their lives are becoming difficult with this Tk120 daily wage amid soaring prices of daily essentials.
He urges the government to meet the tea workers' demand immediately.
