Seeking $3 a day amid inflation, protesters draw sympathy from beyond industry
Striking Bangladeshi tea workers stage a demonstration at
a plantation in the northeastern Moulvibazar District.
(Photo by Mintu Deshwara)
SYFUL ISLAM, Contributing writer
SYFUL ISLAM, Contributing writer
August 20, 2022
DHAKA -- A strike by the tea workers of Bangladesh is becoming a rallying point for the country, as accelerating inflation adds to frustration over meager wages.
Workers from over 160 tea plantations across the nation are demanding a raise to the equivalent of $3 per day, from the present standard of $1.20, which makes them the country's lowest-paid workforce.
"The tea garden owners have agreed to raise wages to only $1.40 per day, which we did not accept. We will wage a greater movement to realize our demand," said Nripen Pal, acting general secretary at the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union.
"We won't make any compromise unless we get proper wages," he said after a meeting with owners and government labor department officials on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the union called for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's intervention.
The strike, which reached its seventh day on Friday, comes amid surging living costs in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has fueled price rises worldwide. In June, the nation's inflation rate soared to 7.56%, the highest in eight years, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Earlier this month, sudden fuel price hikes heaped even more pressure on consumers.
But tea workers have it harder than most -- a fact that has moved people from all strata of society to support their cause.
Abdus Shahid, a member of parliament in the tea production area of the Maulvibazar district, demanded that the minimum wage for the workers be $5. In universities in Dhaka and Sylhet, students have also rallied, calling the tea workers victims of "modern-day slavery."
On Friday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- the main opposition party -- issued a statement urging the plantation owners to accept the workers' demand. "Steps need to be taken to enhance tea workers' wages to help them come out from starvation, poverty and sufferings," said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP's general secretary.
There are 100,000 permanent tea workers and 50,000 more temporary laborers in 167 tea plantations in Bangladesh. They support some 500,000 dependents. But even their $1.20 a day is not guaranteed: If they collect less than 23 kilograms of leaves, they get paid less.
The Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA), a body of landowners, said in a statement that the workers earn the equivalent of $4 a day, including benefits such as free housing, 3.5 kg of wheat rations per week and access to medical care.
"We will settle the wage issue and [have] requested the workers to resume work," said M. Shah Alam, chairman of the BTA.
The workers argue the medical facilities mentioned by the BTA are poor and inadequate, while the housing amounts to shanties that they are expected to pay for.
DHAKA -- A strike by the tea workers of Bangladesh is becoming a rallying point for the country, as accelerating inflation adds to frustration over meager wages.
Workers from over 160 tea plantations across the nation are demanding a raise to the equivalent of $3 per day, from the present standard of $1.20, which makes them the country's lowest-paid workforce.
"The tea garden owners have agreed to raise wages to only $1.40 per day, which we did not accept. We will wage a greater movement to realize our demand," said Nripen Pal, acting general secretary at the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union.
"We won't make any compromise unless we get proper wages," he said after a meeting with owners and government labor department officials on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the union called for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's intervention.
The strike, which reached its seventh day on Friday, comes amid surging living costs in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has fueled price rises worldwide. In June, the nation's inflation rate soared to 7.56%, the highest in eight years, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Earlier this month, sudden fuel price hikes heaped even more pressure on consumers.
But tea workers have it harder than most -- a fact that has moved people from all strata of society to support their cause.
Abdus Shahid, a member of parliament in the tea production area of the Maulvibazar district, demanded that the minimum wage for the workers be $5. In universities in Dhaka and Sylhet, students have also rallied, calling the tea workers victims of "modern-day slavery."
On Friday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- the main opposition party -- issued a statement urging the plantation owners to accept the workers' demand. "Steps need to be taken to enhance tea workers' wages to help them come out from starvation, poverty and sufferings," said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP's general secretary.
There are 100,000 permanent tea workers and 50,000 more temporary laborers in 167 tea plantations in Bangladesh. They support some 500,000 dependents. But even their $1.20 a day is not guaranteed: If they collect less than 23 kilograms of leaves, they get paid less.
The Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA), a body of landowners, said in a statement that the workers earn the equivalent of $4 a day, including benefits such as free housing, 3.5 kg of wheat rations per week and access to medical care.
"We will settle the wage issue and [have] requested the workers to resume work," said M. Shah Alam, chairman of the BTA.
The workers argue the medical facilities mentioned by the BTA are poor and inadequate, while the housing amounts to shanties that they are expected to pay for.
Tea workers union leaders speak at a meeting on Aug 17.
WOMEN TEA WORKERS NOT REPRESENTED BY THEMSELVES,
NON TEA WORKERS, MALES ARE THE SO CALLED UNION LEADERS
(Photo by Shafiqul Islam)
Either way, their situation compares unfavorably to their peers in other sectors, including day laborers and rickshaw pullers who can earn around $8 to $10 a day. Tea workers in neighboring countries are relatively better-paid as well: In the Indian state of Assam, just opposite the Bangladeshi tea plantations in Sylhet, the authorities on Aug. 10 agreed to raise wages by about 34 cents to the equivalent of about $2.90, amid strikes and legal cases in upper courts. Last year, in India's Tamil Nadu, wages rose to equal about $5.35 a day, while Nepali and Sri Lankan tea pickers earn around $3 a day, according to local reports.
The tea pickers are not Bangladesh's only frustrated workers. Laborers in the vast garment industry took to the streets in June, clashing with police in some cases.
On June 6, Shajahan Khan, a government representative and former shipping minister, pledged to form a wage board as soon as possible to establish a new pay structure for the garment workers. He also said the government would arrange ration cards for workers so that they can buy some basic commodities at subsidized prices.
Neither the wage board nor the ration cards have materialized.
Now there are signs of an emerging united front among workers' groups.
Labor leaders are calling for immediate wage hikes in all trades. "There are no other options but to raise wages without delay to help workers survive," said Nazma Akter, a former child worker and executive director of the Awaj Foundation, a labor rights organization.
Noting the lack of follow-through on the wage board and rations, she said, "The wage hike issue is being discussed among the labor organizations separately, and we may sit together soon to devise a strategy to press home the demand."
Still, garment factory owners insist they cannot afford to increase pay due to a steep increase in production costs. "The government can provide workers commodities at a subsidized rate," argued Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Either way, their situation compares unfavorably to their peers in other sectors, including day laborers and rickshaw pullers who can earn around $8 to $10 a day. Tea workers in neighboring countries are relatively better-paid as well: In the Indian state of Assam, just opposite the Bangladeshi tea plantations in Sylhet, the authorities on Aug. 10 agreed to raise wages by about 34 cents to the equivalent of about $2.90, amid strikes and legal cases in upper courts. Last year, in India's Tamil Nadu, wages rose to equal about $5.35 a day, while Nepali and Sri Lankan tea pickers earn around $3 a day, according to local reports.
The tea pickers are not Bangladesh's only frustrated workers. Laborers in the vast garment industry took to the streets in June, clashing with police in some cases.
On June 6, Shajahan Khan, a government representative and former shipping minister, pledged to form a wage board as soon as possible to establish a new pay structure for the garment workers. He also said the government would arrange ration cards for workers so that they can buy some basic commodities at subsidized prices.
Neither the wage board nor the ration cards have materialized.
Now there are signs of an emerging united front among workers' groups.
Labor leaders are calling for immediate wage hikes in all trades. "There are no other options but to raise wages without delay to help workers survive," said Nazma Akter, a former child worker and executive director of the Awaj Foundation, a labor rights organization.
Noting the lack of follow-through on the wage board and rations, she said, "The wage hike issue is being discussed among the labor organizations separately, and we may sit together soon to devise a strategy to press home the demand."
Still, garment factory owners insist they cannot afford to increase pay due to a steep increase in production costs. "The government can provide workers commodities at a subsidized rate," argued Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
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