Workers of 8 tea gardens in Sylhet join work after getting partial arrears

The workers of eight tea gardens under Kamalganj National Tea Company Limited (NTCL) in Moulvibazar district returned to work on Tuesday morning, on receiving part of their arrears, for which they went on work abstention.

The authorities concerned cleared their dues for two weeks yesterday (9 December). Recently, a decision was taken to clear all dues of the tea workers in phases. They were owed 6 weeks in total.

Rashedul Islam, the assistant manager of Madhabpur Tea Garden, who was on an inspection, said that after nearly 49 days, the tea workers have resumed their work.

"During this period, the tea gardens have suffered irreparable damage. We will continue our efforts to recover some of the losses through work. However, the company has faced losses amounting to several crores of money over the past few months," he said.

The tea garden workers went on work abstention from 22 August demanding payment of their outstanding dues.

Nipen Pal, acting general secretary of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, said according to the decision of a meeting held between the top leaders of the union and National Tea Company, the 6-week wages, which remain unpaid after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, will be cleared in two to three phases.

Already, the workers got their wages for two weeks and started to join their workplace, he said.

Deputy General Manager (DGM) Shafiqur Rahman Munna, said the workers who were getting monthly allowance will get their payment on 20 December.

During the garden closure days, the tea workers' rations will not be cut. The closure days will not be counted as absences when calculating bonuses and annual leave days, he said.

Besides, the dues will be cleared in March 2025, he added.