Equal wage still elusive
No increase in remuneration for temporary tea workers
I work as much as a permanent worker but get paid way less. It is very difficult to survive with such a poor wage.
Hundreds of temporary tea workers in the country are suffering due to a poor pay structure. Many of them are paid around 30 to 50 percent lower wages than permanent workers.
In August last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed tea estate owners to raise the daily wage of tea workers to Tk 170 from the previous Tk 120.
As per her directives, the tea estate owners are now paying Tk 170 for permanent workers. However, the wages of many temporary workers were not raised.
"Most temporary tea workers get Tk 120, while some others get only Tk 70 to Tk 80. Rubber workers get Tk 110," said Karthik Nayek, president of Sonachara Tea Garden Unit of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union.
Moreover, the families of permanent workers are entitled to food rations, which is not the case for temporary workers. Even, family members of permanent workers get food rations.
"I work as much as a permanent worker but get paid way less. It is very difficult to survive with such a poor wage," said British Roy, a temporary tea worker at Moulvibazar's Sreemangal upazila.
As per Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, workers must be paid equal wages for equal work, said Rajat Biswas, general secretary of the Moulvibazar district unit of the Bangladesh Trade Union Sangha.
Pankaj Kondo, vice-president of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union central committee, said that they have repeatedly requested tea garden owners to end the discrimination in terms of wages but to no avail.
Asked, Golam Mohammad Shiblee, chairman of the Sylhet chapter of Bangladesh Tea Association, a platform for tea garden owners, said, "Plucking is the main work in a tea garden. Temporary workers, who pluck leaves, get wages equal to permanent workers. But those who work less than eight hours or work on contract or shift are paid a lower wage."
The association's chairman M Shah Alam said, "I'm not entirely aware of this. We have received no such complaints regarding wage discrimination."
According to the latest data from the Statistical Handbook on Bangladesh Tea Industry-2019, there are 166 tea gardens in the country where 1,03,747 permanent workers and 36,437 temporary workers are involved.
Contacted, Major General Md Ashraful Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Tea Board, said, "We have asked all tea estate owners to pay equal wages to permanent and temporary workers."
"We will investigate in case any such wage discrimination is taking place," he added.