Tea garden workers on work stoppage to demand salary

After six weeks without a salary, workers in the 16 tea gardens under the state-owned National Tea Company have gone on a work stoppage.

They have also been staging protest programmes.

The National Tea Company authorities say the weekly wages of more than 17,000 workers have gone unpaid due to the dissolution of the directorial board after the fall of the last government, no chairman being appointed, lack of loans, and tea prices have not gone up, reports bdnews24.com.

The Bangladesh Tea Workers Union says at least 17,000 labourers work in the 16 tea gardens under the ownership of the National Tea Company in Moulvibazar, Sylhet and Habiganj. Some 30,000 family members rely on the income made by these workers.

Despite meeting with authorities repeatedly, the workers have not received any assurances they would get their salaries. Over time they grew agitated and eventually halted work from Monday.

When asked, National Tea Company General Manager Emdadul Haque said they were trying to pay the workers but have not been able to manage it.

“We’re likely to have a meeting at the commerce ministry on Oct 28. They have to wait till then,” said Haque.

Meanwhile, the workers and tea garden authorities said the current season is the right time to harvest tea leaves. The indefinite work stoppage has left around 400,000 kg of raw tea in the section unharvested for three days. If not picked up within the next two or three days, it could all be spoiled.

“It’s almost one and a half months since the workers have received their wages. They don’t have any additional income,” said Kurma Tea Estate Panchayat President Narad Pashi.

“They live on their daily wages. They can manage some groceries for one or two weeks with promises to pay later. But now grocers are not allowing it any more. All these workers have children at home. How long can they starve? They were helpless and called the work stoppage.”

“Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Union held a few meetings with the garden authorities on this issue but they were not fruitful,” said the organisation’s Finance Secretary Paresh Kalindi.

“The garden authorities said they will pay once they get loans from Krishi Bank. When will they get a loan and pay? How will the workers manage? They should take a humanitarian view on the matter.”

“Our workers don’t have food at home and the work they do is quite laborious. How can they work when they starve? They will not go back to work until the owners pay them,” said Krishna Lal Deshowara, Panchayat president of Padmachhara Tea Garden in Madhabpur’s Kamalganj.

The Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Union has contacted the garden authorities multiple times to pay workers but nothing was done, said the organisation’s General Secretary Nripen Pal. “Hence the union supports the work stoppage.”

He sought the intervention of the interim government to resolve the issue.

Every year, Bangladesh Krishi Bank provides them with an additional loan during the current season, said National Tea Company General Manager Emdadul Haque. However, three members of their directorial board were removed after the last government collapsed and a new chairman had yet to be elected. Under the circumstances, the Krishi Bank was not providing them the loan, he said.

“We took Tk 850 million in loans during the current season from Krishi Bank and are repaying it. On the other hand, tea production costs stands at more than Tk 200 per kg while the average sales price is Tk 180.83 per kg. Also, not all types of tea are sold. To tide us over during the crisis, we sought another Tk 440 million loan from the Krishi Bank.”

Emdadul said they would be able to secure the loan once the full directorial board was formed and then pay the workers the wages.

Four representatives from different ministries, three shareholders, three individuals politically appointed and a managing director comprise the 11-strong directorial board. This board elects a chairman.

Due to the current change in the government, three politically appointed directors are not on the board any more. Hence, the board cannot make decisions or take out bank loans.

The company also has Tk 2.89 billion in share value in its fund but could not spend it as two shareholders filed a writ petition to the court, the general manager said.

Now was the season to harvest the tea, he said.

Usually, an average of 12,000 kg of raw tea leaves were plucked daily in the tea gardens of the National Tea Company during this time. At present 144,000 kg tea leaves remain unharvested in 12 gardens per day and could spoil.