Sylhet Tea Garden Workers Stage Work Stoppage Demanding Tk 500 Daily Wage

Workers at the Alibahar tea garden and the Daldali tea garden in Sylhet observed a two-hour work stoppage and staged demonstrations yesterday, Sunday, to press home a four-point charter of demands. The central demand of the protesting workforce is the immediate fixation of their daily wage at Tk 500.

The protests and work stoppages were organized under specific local initiatives, with the program at the Alibahar tea garden being spearheaded by the Alibahar Tea Garden Panchayat Committee. A separate, independent program was simultaneously observed at the Daldali tea garden by the Daldali Tea Garden Panchayat Committee.

The comprehensive four-point set of demands put forward by the protesting plantation workers includes not only the wage increase to Tk 500 per day but also the implementation of garden elections and other pressing concerns affecting their daily lives and labor conditions.

To formally register their grievances and press for their demands, local tea garden worker leaders submitted memorandums to key government officials. The delegations handed over the official memorandums to Expatriates' Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and the local District Commissioner.

The concerted actions at the Alibahar and Daldali estates reflect ongoing labor mobilization within the region, involving various organizational bodies such as the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, Pragoti Youth Social Welfare Organization, Alibahar Tea Garden Panchayat Committee, Alibahar Puja Committee, and the Daldali Tea Garden Panchayat Committee, alongside prominent figures including Kausar Ahmed, Shyamacharan Goala, Krishna Goala, Nazma Begum, Mintu Das, Shilpi Akter, and Ariful Haque Chowdhury.