Raju Goala, the president of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, Sylhet Valley, said: “NTC-owned Lakkatura, Doldoli, and Kewachhara tea plantations in Sylhet have not paid their workers for over 10 weeks. Is there no one to see their suffering?”The Bangladesh Tea Workers Union estimates that around 17,000 labourers work in the 16 tea gardens owned by the NTC in Moulvibazar, Sylhet, and Habiganj. According to Goala, all the 12 tea plantations owned by the NTC in Sylhet Division are facing arrears. They also said that thousands of NTC workers are living a ‘sub-human’ life due to the non-payment of wages and ration. Union leaders have called for a new minimum wage for tea workers, calculated to support a six-member family in light of rising living costs.
