10 weeks unpaid: Thousands of tea workers suffer severe hardship

Around 12,000 tea workers from 12 tea gardens are facing severe hardship due to unpaid wages, which have now been stuck for over 10 weeks.

The workers, employed by the National Tea Company (NTC), have been protesting in the tea gardens over unpaid wages for nearly two and a half months. As a result, production has halted in these gardens, with workers—many of whom are going unfed—on strike for the past 4 weeks.

Workers say that they are unable to support their families due to the non-payment of salaries. Garden authorities, however, attribute the delay to the company's financial difficulties, including significant debt issues.

NTC, a public limited company founded in 1978, is majority-owned by the state (51 percent) with the remaining shares traded publicly on the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges. The company owns 12 tea gardens, located primarily in Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Sylhet.

According to a senior government official familiar with the tea sector, NTC owes Tk 380 crore to Bangladesh Krishi Bank. Although the company sought a loan of Tk 150 crore this year, the bank approved only Tk 8.6 crore. A portion of the proceeds from tea sales is typically used to pay off the debt, yet workers have been left without their wages.

There are 12 tea plantations in Bangladesh owned by NTC, employing 11,286 workers.

Workers say they haven't been paid since August 26, yet they continued working without pay for almost two months afterwards.

A mother feeds her child rice soaked in water mixed with the powder of dried tea leaves, as there is nothing else in the house. Rita Baraik, and her husband Dhananjay, are both tea workers. They have had no work and no income for the last few months. Photo: Mintu Deshwara

Despite this compromise for the workers' side, authorities were unable to settle payments.

As a result, workers have been on strike since October 11 after working for six weeks without pay or ration supplies.

Workers have also held human chains demanding their overdue wages and rations.

Many workers have described the situation as inhumane, with families struggling to survive.

Tea worker Ohila Bauri, speaking on behalf of the protesters, expressed frustration with the owners' lack of clear communication regarding wage payment. She also highlighted that while workers remain unpaid, garden managers and other staffs are still receiving their salaries.

Additionally, they alleged that the company has failed to deposit workers' provident fund contributions to the relevant authorities.

The strike has led to the closure of all 12 of NTC's tea factories, disrupting production and causing a significant waste of tea leaves. The delay in production is expected to affect the company's annual tea targets.

Nipen Paul, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, emphasised the workers' growing frustration. He noted that the workers were left with no choice but to strike after being deprived of their basic livelihood.

Hossain Uddin, the manager of Premnagar Tea Garden, attributed the delay in salary payments to the loan complications with the Bangladesh Krishi Bank. However, he assured that efforts are underway to resolve the issue through discussions with higher authorities.