Tea workers end strike as NTC agrees to pay arrears

Tea workers have decided to end their strike as the state-owned National Tea Company (NTC) has agreed to pay outstanding wages to workers of 12 tea gardens in Moulvibazar, Habiganj, and Sylhet in phases.

The first instalment of payments will be made to the workers by next Thursday, said NTC.

For three months, 12,000 workers across NTC's 12 tea gardens have gone unpaid, leaving them struggling to afford basic necessities. Many have turned to low-wage, irregular jobs as daily work.

A tripartite meeting involving tea workers, NTC management, and labor department officials was held Sunday afternoon at the Divisional Labor Office in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar, to resolve the issue, according to sources.

In the meeting, it was decided that, by next Thursday, two weeks of the six weeks' arrears and one month's regular salary will be paid. The remaining four weeks of unpaid wages will be settled in instalments by March 31.

Additionally, it was decided that from December, workers will be paid their wages regularly every week. Following this announcement, the tea workers agreed to return to work starting Thursday.

Workers will now receive daily wages at a rate of Tk 178.50, with a 5 percent increase, as proposed by the Bangladesh Tea Congress (BCS).

The meeting was attended by NTC Managing Director Syed Mahmud Hasan, General Manager Emdadul Haque, Deputy Director of the Divisional Labor Office Mohammad Nahidul Islam, Bangladesh Tea Workers Union General Secretary Nripen Paul etc.

Syed Mahmud Hasan said, the delay in wage payments was due to a lack of funds, and timely government intervention resolved the issue.

The meeting was held under the mediation of the Divisional Labour Office.

According to tea workers, labour leaders, and garden authorities, seven percent of Bangladesh's total tea production comes from these 12 NTC gardens. After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the NTC board of directors collapsed, disrupting the payment process. As a result, the workers stopped working on October 21.

Unpaid and worried about their job security, the workers since then have organised a number of protests, including human chains and meetings.