Moulvibazar tea workers go on indefinite strike

The workers of Ayeshabag Tea Garden in Baralekha upazila of Moulvibazar went on indefinite strike since this morning to press home their seven-point demand including the permission of cultivating paddy in fallow land inside the tea garden.

The other demands include right to planting trees adjacent to the houses, cattle farming and vegetable cultivation, demand for arrears of festival bonus, establishing schools in tea gardens and ensuring sanitation and pure water.

Apu Nayek, general secretary of the tea garden’s panchayat committee, told our Moulvibazar correspondent that the workers went on the strike as they did not get any solution from the meeting held with the garden authorities over the demands this morning.

“We will continue our strike until the demands are met,” he said.

Dipankar Ghush, general secretary of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Federation central committee, said the tea workers have long been suffering for sub-standard estate housing as well as lack of health and other services.

Tea workers play valuable role in producing tea, but they are the poorest and are mainly landless, he said.

“We have been placing our demands to the authorities since 2014. But we did not get any assurance from them in this regard. So, we started the strike from 8:00am today,” said Moni Bauri and Anjali Bunarji, two female workers.

Talking to our correspondent, Ajit Banerjee, president of the panchayat committee, said “We expect the government’s intervention to meet the demands of the workers.”

This correspondent could not reach Ayeshabagh Tea Garden Manager Mizanur Rahman over phone.