The state-owned National Tea Company Ltd workers in Moulvibazar continued to observe strike and hold demonstrations pressing for payment of wages.
The teagarden workers have been staging protest programmes from Thursday.
On Saturday, tea workers in Premnagar, Madanmohanpur, Champaray, Baghachara and Padmachara tea gardens separately observed a one-hour strike for their weekly wages and allowances.
At a human chain in Premnagar tea garden, Panchayat Raj Naik said that tea garden workers had not received wages for the past 21 days.
‘Not only are their wages but also their ration and medical services stopped. Also for 15 months, the provident fund is not paying,’ he said, adding that although the workers were working hard every day, their wages were withheld.
Mentioning to announce a strict programme from next Monday if the due wages are not paid immediately, Raj Naik said that they would begin more stringent action.
On Thursday, the workers of Madanmohanpur, Madhabpur and Patrakhola tea plantations of Madhabpur union of the the district observed a one-hour due to non-payment of weekly wages.
On Friday, the workers of Madanmohanpur, Champarai, Baghachhara and Padmachara tea gardens of Kamalganj upazila observed a one-hour strike and demonstrated human chain and protest separately in the gardens.
Bijay Hazra, organising secretary of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union and president of Balishira Valley, said, ‘Wages have stopped in all the tea gardens of the National Tea Company. In this regard, we have a meeting at Srimangal Divisional Labour Office on Sunday.’
Dipan Kumar Singh, manager of Patrakhola Tea Garden in Kamalganj, said that the management board of the company was dissolved due to the change of government.
‘So these problems are happening. If the governing council is formed again, this problem will no longer exist,’ he added.