Hasina stresses need to focus on tea workers' welfare

She talks the owners into increasing the daily wage of the workers by Tk 50 to Tk 170 in meeting

Sheikh Hasina says it is important to think about the well-being of the tea estate workers alongside the industry’s development, reminding the owners of the hard work that the labours put in.

She made the remark in a meeting on Saturday with the owners at the Ganabhaban, where the daily wage of tea workers was increased by Tk 50 to Tk 170 amid a labour strike.

Leaders of the workers’ union said they would go back to work accepting what Hasina decided.

The hard work of these labourers is the source of their and the owners’ earnings, Hasina said. “There’s no doubt the pandemic caused losses, but we should take care of those who do physical labour for food.”

She described the Awami League’s efforts to improve the lives of tea workers, saying they received citizenship after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Board in 1957. The workers were treated as slaves during British rule, she said.

The prime minister said the workers also received other facilities at that time. “They always remember that and feel a connection with me.”

She also pointed out the importance of the tea industry. “It was once a major [source of income] for the country. We used to earn from tea exports.”

But with the economic development of Bangladesh, the demand for tea has leapt domestically, she said.

Highlighting the efforts to increase tea production, Hasina said: “Panchagarh had no tea estates. I took the initiative and that has now expanded to Kurigram, even to Thakurgaon”