Stakeholders have called for revisions to the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 to ensure tea workers’ rights to accommodation, gratuity, and casual leave.
The demands were voiced at a stakeholder meeting, titled “Necessary Legal Reforms for Tea Industry Workers,” organised by the Solidarity Center on Thursday (October 31) at a Dhaka hotel.
Key recommendations included amendments to section 28 of the labour law to guarantee gratuity for tea workers, section 115 of the law to provide casual leave, section 117 to secure annual leave with pay, and section 32to protect housing rights for tea workers and prevent eviction.
Stakeholders also urged for tea workers to be represented in the National Tripartite Consultative Council and the Labour Law Reform Committee of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union.
Additional demands included ensuring basic needs like healthcare during tea plantation closures, fair minimum wage calculation, and collective bargaining through the Bangladesh Tea Association.
‘Discriminatory’ laws
Ram Bhajan Kairi, former General Secretary of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, criticised current labour laws as discriminatory. "Excluding certain workers from gratuity eligibility is inherently oppressive," he said, advocating for legal amendments to grant tea workers equal rights.
Solidarity Center Deputy Country Programme Director Monica Hartsell emphasised that although tea workers are included under Bangladesh labour laws, they lack equal protections: “Now is the time to focus on these marginalised workers within the spirit of the non-discrimination movement.”
Sustainable industry
AKM Nasim, Country Programme Director at Solidarity Center, highlighted the historical neglect of tea workers and the fragmented approach to addressing their issues, calling for comprehensive engagement with tea workers to ensure a sustainable, vibrant industry.
Echoing this sentiment, Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, said, “Tea workers’ wages remain unsettled, despite the industry’s 200-year history. We must break the tradition that a tea worker’s child will also be a tea worker if we want to improve their standard of living.”
The event was moderated by Khandkar Shafin Habib, programme officer at Solidarity Center, with a keynote speech by journalist Md Habibur Rahman. Other speakers included Nirpen Pal, Acting General Secretary of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, Labour Ministry Joint Secretary Raja Mia, and Factory and Establishment Inspection Directorate’s Joint Inspector General Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan.