May 2, 2025
DHAKA – Around 2,500 tea garden workers will block Sylhet Airport Road in Sylhet on May 4 since they have remained unpaid for the last 20 weeks.
Ronjit Nayek Ronju, convener of the Chasramik O Chabagan Rokha Committee, confirmed the development to The Daily Star.
He said, “Despite repeated assurances, no one has kept their word. We have heard many promises, but none have been fulfilled. Therefore, we will block the Sylhet Airport Road in Malnichhara next Sunday (May 4) to press home our demands.”
Josoda Bauri has been working at Kalagul Tea Garden in Sylhet for over four decades. When she first started, her daily wage was just six takas. Over the years, her wages and rations have increased. But never in her sixty years has she faced a crisis of 20 consecutive weeks without payment.
She said, “I did not receive any extra allowance for the Dol festival. I protested, but there is no work now. Today is May Day, but I have received neither my wages nor any bonus.”
At Burjan Tea Garden, another worker, Josna Begum, said she too had to take to the streets near the end of her working life to demand her unpaid wages before Eid. “No one listened. I couldn’t even afford proper iftar because my wages weren’t paid during Ramadan. I’m now surviving on raw vegetables—when I can find them,” she said.
“Eid-ul-Azha is approaching again. We couldn’t afford anything last Eid. I couldn’t even face my children,” she said, visibly agitated. “I came here today out of desperation. If you’re going to kill us like this, then do it at once. We cannot survive without food and water. How long can we endure this?”
Around 2,500 workers and their families from Kalagul, Charagang, Burjan, and the Burjan factory—all under the Burjan Tea Company—staged a protest in Sylhet recently, demanding their pending wages and ration allowances.
The demonstrations, which began in the city’s Lakkatura area, ended with a two-hour sit-in in front of the Sylhet Deputy Commissioner’s office at Bandar Bazar recently.
Chanting slogans such as “Workers of the world, unite and fight”, “We demand our salaries and bonuses,” and “Pay the workers now,” the workers decried their living conditions. Many said they were starving and their children could no longer eat three meals a day. Their studies have also been disrupted.
Sylhet Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Md Anwar Uz Zaman said food relief is being distributed among 2,500 workers who have been affected. We have already spoken with the ministry and the tea board regarding the workers’ arrears.”
Md Kamruzzaman, manager of Burjan Tea Garden, said, “We will recommend that Krishi Bank issue us a loan. We are hopeful that the situation will improve soon.”
He said not only workers but also officials and staff have not received their salaries, as the gardens are incurring losses.
Raju Goala, president of the Sylhet Valley unit and organising secretary of the central committee of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, said the tea workers have been suffering a lot.
Sohag Chhatri, a tea workers’ leader at Kalagul, said, “We work from dawn to dusk, yet we have not received our pay for 20 weeks. We are repeatedly told we’ll be paid ‘today or tomorrow’, but it never happens. The managers travel abroad while we starve.”
“The government is not paying attention. Please help us get our dues so we can return to work. No one stands by us. We cannot even care for our children,” he said.
Sanjay Kanta Das, adviser to the Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Federation, said, “Despite repeated assurances from government officials—starting from the deputy commissioner—no effective action has been taken to resolve the crisis.”