Tea workers in Sylhet brought out a torch procession in Lakkatura in Sylhet to press home their five-point demand, including clearance of their dues for three months. The workers under the banner of Bangladesh Tea Worker Federation and Tea Garden Education Right Implementation Council jointly brought out a torch procession from Lakkatura Rest Camp Bazar on Monday evening which ended at the same point after parading the important roads including Airport Road. Tea Workers in Sylhet stage protest demanding overdue wages The demands include—payment of the dues of the workers under National Tea Corporation and resumption of the production of the tea garden closed earlier, to fix Tk 500 as daily wages for the tea workers, cancellation of all discriminatory sections from the labour law, stop introducing projects at tea gardens and ensure land rights and steps for Bangladesh Tea Workers Union Election, immediately. Leaders and workers from Bangladesh Tea Workers Federation, Sylhet spoke at the meeting. The speakers said the tea workers did not receive their wages for the past three months and after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, seven directors including Sheikh Kabir stepped down from NTC. Tea workers strike in Sylhet over payment of arrears Kabir was the chief of 23 organisations abusing his power and different allegations including looting were brought against him, they said. After the fall of the government, the respective banks failed to provide loans, leaving the disbursement of the wages and ration of the workers in uncertainty. Tea workers in Sylhet have been staging demonstrations for the past several days demanding clearing of their outstanding dues.  

Workers of a readymade garment factory put barricade on a road on Thursday morning demanding payment of their dues, disrupting vehicular movement in Bakolia area of Chattogram port city. Quoting witnesses, Selim Newaz, assistant superintendent of Chattogram Industrial Police said the workers of Dips Apparels found their factory closed in the morning. A closure notice was found hanging on the main gate of the factory. Then they gathered at Shah Amanat Bridge of Bakolia area around 9 am and staged demonstrations demanding payment of dues. They said the he factory authorities failed to pay their wages in the last five months. Read: RMG workers stage demo in Dhaka protesting sexual abuse Vehicular movement stretching from Shaha Amanat Bridge to Marine Drive Road and New Chaktai Road remained halted since morning, causing suffering to commuters. The factory owner said there is no work order at the factory now and owner is struggling to pay the wages of 600 workers of his factory, said ASP Newaz. The owner also decided to stop production of the factory. Police are trying to bring the situation under control, he said.

Robi Axiata Limited, country’s 2nd largest mobile phone operator, has paid Tk 27.60 crore to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) as the first installment of Tk 138 crore of the dues as directed by the High Court.

Dhaka, Sept 15 (UNB) – Traffic in the city’s Mirpur area remained suspended for six hours on Sunday as workers of a garment factory staged demonstrations blocking a road demanding that their wages and dues be cleared immediately.