Families suffer as unpaid wages leave Habiganj tea workers in dire straits

Renu Kha Bauri is nearly 40 years old. Her husband, Swapan Bauri, passed away many years ago, leaving her to support a family of six, including her children, by working in a tea plantation.

Renu works at the Chandichhara Tea Garden in Habiganj's Chunarughat. Her weekly wages are her family's lifeline, and every Thursday, she waits anxiously for her pay.

However, she has been struggling to make ends meet for the past six weeks as she hasn't received any wages.

Expressing her concerns, Renu says, “I don't have a husband, and I used to barely manage the household with the little money I earned. But now, even that has stopped. For the last six weeks, I haven’t received any salary or rations, and I have no money left.”

“I somehow bought half a kilogramme of flattened rice from the market to feed my family. Even if we manage one meal, there’s no guarantee of the next,” she added.

“If the garden authorities don’t pay our wages and rations soon, we will starve.”

The same hardship has befallen another tea worker, Dulon Ricky Hasan, who has a wife and three children. With no wages, he’s struggling to provide for his family.

“For six straight weeks, our wages have been withheld. We are poor people, living hand-to-mouth. Now, how will we survive? What will we eat, and what can I feed my children?” Dulon asked.

Fellow tea worker Rita Ranju is facing an even greater ordeal. Her mother, Arati Ranju, has been ill for a long time, and without her salary, she cannot afford medicine or nutritious food for her.

“My mother is getting sicker every day because she’s not getting enough to eat,” a distressed Rita said.

Another tea worker, Dilip, voiced his frustration, saying, “Do we tea workers not have basic needs? No work, no pay! I’ve been collecting branches from the garden and selling them in the market for Tk 50-100 to buy whatever little food I can, like flattened rice or puffed rice, for my family."

Dulon and his family, who also work at the Chandichhara Tea Garden in Chunarughat, are facing a similar predicament.

“How long can we keep surviving on flattened and puffed rice?”

In response to the situation, the tea workers have been holding daily protests. On Friday, they blocked the old Dhaka-Sylhet highway as part of their demonstrations.

Ranjit Karmakar, president of the Chandichhara Tea Garden Panchayat Committee, said, “The garden authorities keep making promises, but for the past six weeks, our wages, rations, and everything else have been cut off.”

“If we don't get paid soon, we will resort to a highway blockade and more intense protests,” he warned.

Ranjit continued, “We have the Kali Puja coming up. There’s no food in our homes. We are worried about how we will manage the celebrations.”

Md Salimur Rahman, manager of Chandichhara Tea Garden, assured that the authorities are working to resolve the wage issue and that payments will be made soon.