The workers of the country’s 167 tea plantations, including 92 in Moulvibazar, continued their indefinite strike for the 17th day Thursday demanding that they are paid Tk300-a-day wages instead of the current Tk120.
On Thursday afternoon workers from Dewrachara, Premnagar, Majdihi ,Hamidia and some other tea gardens blocked Berir Par intersection of Dhaka-Moulvibazar regional highway and staged rally for around an hour to press for the pay hike.
The workers came to Moulvibazar sadar area from their repective gardens with protest processions, while workers in several other gardens also staged rallies.
The protesting workers said they will not withdraw their strike they launched on August 9 until the prime minister announces Tk 300 daily pay for them.
However, the district administration and police held meetings with Panchayet committees of the plantations in their continued bid to convince the workers to return to work.
The movement started on August 9, when workers from 241 tea gardens of the country abstained from work for two hours, demanding Tk 300 as daily wages. As their demand was not met, they decided to go on a full-scale strike from August 13.
After holding meetings with tea garden owners and other stakeholders in the past two weeks, the tea workers’ union agreed to resumption of work from Monday and get Tk 120 as wages for the time being, but that was rejected by the general workers.
The ongoing strike is the continuation of the previously declared movement by the tea garden workers.
Source: United News of Bangladesh