Moulvibazar tea workers in the lurch

Tea gardens workers in Moulvibazar district are struggling to keep up with the rising trend of commodity prices as their wages have remained unchanged.

Tea is one of the country’s most export-oriented industries. According to government data, there are 163 tea gardens in the country, with 97 in the Moulvibazar district, employing more than 300,000 workers, most of whom are female.

Despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of people working in these tea gardens have contributed significantly to the country’s economy for many years, their standard of living has remained unchanged.

Tea workers currently receive Tk 600 per week, following the Tk 120 cut for the ration fund, according to a tea workers’ union.

As such, workers are struggling to make ends meet on meagre wages as the cost of living rises.

“We have to decide whether to buy food or pay for other necessities. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for us to survive as the cost of goods rises every day,” Shyamoli Tati, a female tea garden worker in Srimangal, Moulvibazar, said.

Shyamoli isn’t the only one in this predicament, as tea workers, like many low-income people across the country, have been left in the lurch as commodity prices have risen staggeringly.

Even prior to the rise in commodity prices, the tea estates were notoriously known for underpaying their workers.

As such, the rising commodity prices has added to their already difficult situation.

According to the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, the workers have been receiving Tk 120 per day since January 2019. 

Wages were supposed to increase as part of the deal with the garden owners, but they didn’t.

A weekly market of daily necessities is held in the tea gardens every Wednesday, when the workers get paid. The locals call it Tolob Bazar (Wage Market).

This correspondent went to the weekly market of the Varaura tea garden near the city last Wednesday. The majority of the workers there couldn’t afford the basic necessities.

Rice was being sold at Tk 40-70 per kg, onions at Tk 35 per kg, oil at Tk 195-200 per litre, lentils at Tk 120 per kg, garlic at Tk 60 per kg, chana lentils at Tk 70 per kg, and dried chilli at Tk 300 per kg in the market.

Kajal Hajra, a tea garden worker who came to the market, said, “Oil is the most expensive item and a lot of it is required for cooking. Despite this, the government continues to raise its price.”

“Leaders only come to us when they need votes. But after the elections, no one checks what the workers,” he added.

Another tea worker, Ram Kurmi, said he bought vegetables, onions, spices, and oil from the market for Tk 440, and fish for Tk 120.

“I still have more grocery shopping left. It is also very difficult to eat a full meal every day and support a family with this wage,” he said.

Bangladesh Tea Workers Union’s Organising Secretary, Bijoy Hajra, said that the workers’ situation is currently “very bad” due to rising commodity prices. 

The Tk 120 daily wage that the workers get is beyond their means of purchasing all necessities.

“We have an agreement with the employers to increase the wages. Moreover, we call on the government to curb the continuous rise in commodity prices.” Hajra said.

National Tea Day was celebrated for the second time in the country on Saturday. 

On the occasion, the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute in Srimangal undertook day-long programs, said Dr Mohammad Abdul Aziz, chief scientific officer of the Tea Research Centre.