Tea workers return job from today

After Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a fixed daily wage of Tk 170, the tea workers stopped their protest to return to work from Sunday.

Central Acting General Secretary of Tea Workers Union Nirpen Pal confirmed the matter to the media.

He said, 'We have accepted the Prime Minister's decision. Workers are happy with it. Sunday is weekly off, they will attend work for payment of cash wages. In the meantime, the matter has been informed in the gardens.'

"After the meeting with tea estate owners at Ganabhaban on Saturday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided to increase the daily wage from 120 taka to 170 taka considering all our aspects. We had faith and trust that he would not disappoint us. We are pleased with his great decision," added he.

The tea workers went on strike for four days and two hours from 9 August demanding a daily wage of Tk 300. They then went on a full-day strike and protest from August 13. Although there were several meetings, it was not resolved. Then they started protesting on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.

When the wage was fixed at Tk 145 in the 20 August meeting, the leaders withdrew the movement. However, the workers did not accept this wage and started the movement again. After several rounds of meetings, finally on 22 August, some of them joined the work, but on 23 August, they started the movement again.

The Prime Minister decided the daily wages of the workers at Tk 170 in a meeting with the representatives of the garden owners at Ganabhaban Saturday afternoon.