Tea workers at four estates in Habiganj began an indefinite strike Monday over a seven-point demand list that includes unpaid wages, rations and festival bonuses for Puja.
The strike began Monday morning, May 25, at the Deundi, Lalchan and Mritinga estates in Habiganj’s Chunarughat upazila and at the Noyapara estate in Madhabpur.
Workers said they have not received their weekly wages for several weeks. The four estates’ nearly 5,000 workers have been pushed into severe hardship, with families living in dire conditions. Anger and concern are growing across the gardens. Uncertainty hangs over wages, Eid bonuses and other benefits.
A tripartite meeting between owners, workers and the labor directorate was held in Sreemangal on May 6 by the divisional labor office. The meeting agreed that all worker arrears would be paid quickly. It also agreed on repairing dilapidated homes before the rainy season, providing medical care under labor law, and paying outstanding wages, rations, provident fund contributions and weekly pay. But the owners did not act on those decisions, prompting workers at the four Deundi-owned estates to launch the strike. From morning, workers stayed away from the gardens and factories and gathered at the local Natya Mandir hall.
Apon Santhal, head of the Deundi tea garden panchayat committee, said: “Deundi Company runs four estates. Tea workers have long been neglected. Since 2022, the owners have only promised solutions to every problem. They have taken no effective steps.”
“They did not implement the decisions of the May 6 Sreemangal meeting. So workers had no choice but to begin an indefinite strike today. The strike will continue until our seven demands are met,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report