The daily wage of tea garden workers has been increased to Tk 170 from Tk 120 amid the work abstention they were observing for three weeks.
The fresh wage was announced on Saturday after the representatives of tea garden owners met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Saturday.
After the hours-long meeting, Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus told the reporters that the daily wage of the workers has been set at Tk 170.
Besides, their other facilities, including accommodation and treatment, will also be increased at a proportional rate, he said.
“In all, the daily wage will be Tk 400 to Tk 500,” Kaikaus added.
The prime minister also urged the workers to resume work on Sunday.
Earlier on August 9, pointing out that the rising inflation has made it difficult to shoulder day-to-day living costs with only Tk 120 in wages per day, around 1,25,000 tea plantation workers began a two-hour work abstention a day demanding a hike in pay.
As their demand was not met, they went on a full-scale strike from August 13.
On August 20, after a meeting with the Department of Labour, tea workers’ union leaders withdrew their indefinite strike after assurance of raising their wages to Tk 145 from Tk 120.
The general tea garden workers, however, rejected the Tk 25 daily wage hike fixed by the government and vowed to continue their movement for a Tk 300 daily wage.
Meanwhile, several meetings with the administration failed to resolve the issue.
