Prof. Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud, eminent economist and chief guest formally launched the book at the VIP lounge of the National Press Club in Dhaka. In his introductory note Philip Gain, SEHD director and editor of the book, reflected on the challenging task of producing the book, a 44-minute documentary film and a photography exhibition.

Presided by SEHD chairman Professor Sakhawat Ali Khan, designated speakers who spoke at the discussion on the book and issues covered in it were Khushi Kabir, Prof. Amena Mohsin, cairman of the Minimum Wages Board,Ikteder Ahmed, member of Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA, organization of the tea estate owners) M Shah Alam, Adivasi leader Gidison Pradhan Suchiang, labor leaders Tapan Datta and Rambhajan Koiri.

Representatives from government and non-government organizations, tea workers, researchers, students, and journalists attended the launching.

The book, Cha Sramiker Katha, is basically about the indentured tea plantation workers, one of the most marginalized and excluded communities of Bangladesh. The issues covered in this book include the history of the tea industry, the ownership of tea estates, socio-economic status of tea workers, their struggle for rights, their health and education status and laws relating to tea industry among others. In addition to information and analyses that have been resulted from years of investigation by SEHD staff, the book contains insightful write-ups by a host of scientist on the tea industry, labor leaders, lawyers, physicians and government officials.

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Staff Correspondent

Tea workers, who are one of the least paid workers in the country, deserve patronage from the owners, the government and the NGOs, speakers said at a publication ceremony yesterday.

The book titled 'Story of Tea Workers' published by the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) depicts the long dejected life of the tea plantation workers of the country and how they are being deprived of access to basic education, standard housing, safe drinking water, sanitation and primary healthcare.

The book also portrays the issues of labour laws being violated at the tea gardens and the seclusion of the workers from the mainstream in all aspects of life.

The publication ceremony was held at the National Press Club in the city.

Rambhajan Koiri, the first elected general secretary of the Tea Workers' Union, said the current wage of tea workers is meagre compared to the cost of living. However, the union was bound to agree to the structure because of pressure from many quarters. At present, a tea worker gets Tk 48 a day.

The most recent blow faced by the tea workers is the ouster of the first elected union leaders from office, he added.

Echoing Koiri's view, renowned economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said the current wage structure of tea workers is not coherent with the ratio of recent economic growth of the country. However, low wage is not their only problem but their seclusion from the mainstream development is the key issue.

There are about 1.5 lakh tea workers in the country working in 163 tea estates. Most of these tea estates are situated in Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Sylhet, while there are a few in Panchagarh, Chittagong, Rangamati and Brahmanbaria.

Prof Amena Mohsin of the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University, said the book reminds us of the discrepancies in our concept of democracy and citizenship. It appears that our democracy is biased towards the well-off segment, which in turn gives birth to dejected communities like this.

Acknowledging some of the points, M Shah Alam, central committee member of Bangladesh Tea Association and director of Duncan Brothers (Bangladesh), said the owners are trying to address the problems of the tea workers accumulated over the years, including housing, education and health services.

Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori, Shakhawat Ali Khan, chairman of SEHD, Philip Gain, its general secretary, Iktedar Ahmed, chairman, Minimum Wage Board of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, labour leader Tapan Dutta, and Jidisan Pradha Suchiang, secretary general of Greater Sylhet Adivasi Forum, also spoke.

(Source: The Daily Star, 22 January 2010)
Web Link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=122978 http://www.thedailystar.net/pf_story.php?nid=122978

Staff Correspondent

Tea workers, who are one of the least paid workers in the country, deserve patronage from the owners, the government and the NGOs, speakers said at a publication ceremony yesterday.

The book titled 'Story of Tea Workers' published by the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) depicts the long dejected life of the tea plantation workers of the country and how they are being deprived of access to basic education, standard housing, safe drinking water, sanitation and primary healthcare.

The book also portrays the issues of labour laws being violated at the tea gardens and the seclusion of the workers from the mainstream in all aspects of life.

The publication ceremony was held at the National Press Club in the city.

Rambhajan Koiri, the first elected general secretary of the Tea Workers' Union, said the current wage of tea workers is meagre compared to the cost of living. However, the union was bound to agree to the structure because of pressure from many quarters. At present, a tea worker gets Tk 48 a day.

The most recent blow faced by the tea workers is the ouster of the first elected union leaders from office, he added.

Echoing Koiri's view, renowned economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said the current wage structure of tea workers is not coherent with the ratio of recent economic growth of the country. However, low wage is not their only problem but their seclusion from the mainstream development is the key issue.

There are about 1.5 lakh tea workers in the country working in 163 tea estates. Most of these tea estates are situated in Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Sylhet, while there are a few in Panchagarh, Chittagong, Rangamati and Brahmanbaria.

Prof Amena Mohsin of the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University, said the book reminds us of the discrepancies in our concept of democracy and citizenship. It appears that our democracy is biased towards the well-off segment, which in turn gives birth to dejected communities like this.

Acknowledging some of the points, M Shah Alam, central committee member of Bangladesh Tea Association and director of Duncan Brothers (Bangladesh), said the owners are trying to address the problems of the tea workers accumulated over the years, including housing, education and health services.

Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori, Shakhawat Ali Khan, chairman of SEHD, Philip Gain, its general secretary, Iktedar Ahmed, chairman, Minimum Wage Board of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, labour leader Tapan Dutta, and Jidisan Pradha Suchiang, secretary general of Greater Sylhet Adivasi Forum, also spoke.

(Source: The Daily Star, 22 January 2010)
Web Link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=122978 http://www.thedailystar.net/pf_story.php?nid=122978

Staff Correspondent

Eminent economist Wahiduddin Mahmood on Thursday observed that the tea industry, which was once a booming sector, had become sick due to lack of research, modernisation, good management and lack of financial assistance.

He urged the government to take necessary steps to save the country’s moribund tea industry.

Addressing a function on the occasion of launching a book, titled Cha Sramiker Katha [The Story of Tea Workers], edited by Philip Gain, Mahmood recalled that the tea industry had got a momentum in 1980s but later it started to become a sick sector.

He stressed on using modern technology to revive the sick industry.

The economist lamented that Bangladeshi workers were getting lower wages compared to that in other tea growing countries.

He pointed out the maximum daily wage of a tea worker is only Tk 48 which is a pittance considering the price-hike of essentials. The minimum daily wage of tea worker is Tk 45.

The rights of the tea workers were not ensured because of their exclusion from society which has a legacy of slavery and colonialism, Mahmood said.

‘Trade union rights of the tea workers should be ensured to stop unethical exploitation by the owners of tea the estates,’ he said.

Society for Environment and Human Development organized the book launching program at the National Press Club in the city.

Chaired by SEHD Chairman Shakhawat Ali Khan, the function was addressed by, among others, coordinator of Nijera Kori Khushi Kabir, former chairman of international relations department of Dhaka University Amena Mohsin, Chairman of Minimum Wage Board Ikteder Ahmed, member of Bangladesh Tea Association M Shah Alam, tea worker leaders Tapon Dutta and Ranbhajan Koiri.

Speaking on the occasion, Khushi Kabir said the respective garden owners and the government should come forward with initiatives to ensure fair wages for the tea workers.

If the government takes tea as an industrial sector then why not its workers would get wages like workers in other industries, she pointed out.

SEHD chairman Shakhawat Ali Khan informed that some 36 among a total 163 tea gardens in the country remained sick.

He urged the concerned authorities to find out new markets around the world for exporting tea.

Source: http://www.newagebd.com/2010/jan/22/busi.html#1

Speakers at a book launching ceremony urged the government to take proper steps for increasing the wages of tea workers to help improve their poverty-stricken life, reports UNB.

They said the maximum daily wage of a tea worker at present is Tk 48 while it was Tk 38.5 in 2008. The amount is too small for them to maintain their lives considering the price-hike of essentials.

Earlier, Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud formally launched the book titled 'The story of tea workers' at the National Press Club in the city Thursday.

Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), a non-government organisation, published the book focusing the untold sufferings and way of life of the tea workers, who are working at the tea gardens in greater Sylhet region.

Chaired by SEHD Chairman Shakhawat Ali Khan, the function was addressed, among others, by eminent economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, Nijera Kori Coordinator Khushi Kabir, Amena Mohsin of International Relations Department of Dhaka University, Chairman of Minimum Wage Board Ikteder Ahmed, member of Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA) M Shah Alam, labour leaders Tapon Dutta and Ranbhajan Koiri.

Speaking on the occasion, Wahiduddin Mahmud said fate of the tea workers remained unchanged till now despite two major historical changes- partition of India in 1947 and the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

"The tea workers never raised their voice to uphold their rights because of their peaceful nature, poverty and social alienation. As they are not involved in politics, they failed to raise voices for winning their rights," he said.

(Source: The Financial Express, 22 January 2010)
Weblink: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=90237

Edited by Philip Gain
Published by Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD)
Published 2009
300 Pages in offset Price: Taka 500 US$15

Bengali edition: Cha Sramiker Katha
Edited by Philip Gain
Published by Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD)
Published 2009
Pages 334 in offset Price: Taka 500 US$15


This book is basically about the tea plantation workers in Bangladesh. However, the genesis of tea cultivation in what is now Bangladesh, its growth, ownership, rights of the tea workers and their struggle for legitimate demands, the use of land granted for tea cultivation and different trends have also been featured to understand the conditions in which the indentured tea plantation workers have been confined.

The first commercial-scale tea garden in Bangladesh was established in 1854. Now the country has 156 tea gardens (excluding seven in the North Bengal) with more than 118,000 tea workers. The laborers who keep the tea industry alive are not locals. The British companies brought them from different States of India about hundred and fifty years back. These workers belonging to many ethnic identities cleared jungles, planted and tended tea saplings, planted shade trees, and built luxurious bungalows for the tea planters. But they had their destiny tied to their huts in the ‘labor lines’ that they built themselves. They continue to remain as people without choice and entitlement to property.

Living conditions in the labor lines of the tea gardens are generally unsatisfactory. Typically a single room is crowded with people of different ages of a family. Cattle and human beings are often seen living together in the same house or room.

The wages of the tea plantation workers of Bangladesh is another concern. They get much lower wages than that of the Indian tea workers. The work condition of the tea plantation workers is not satisfactory. They are socially excluded, overwhelmingly illiterate, deprived and disconnected. They have also lost their languages and cultures.

“The Story of Tea Workers in Bangladesh” is a book for a wide range of users and actors who want to understand the issues relating to the tea plantation workers and how the tea industry in run. In addition to information, insights and views about the conditions of the tea plantation workers, one will also find significant literature review and guidance to web resources on tea; useful addresses of concerned actors and institutions; laws relating to tea industry and tea workers; glossary on tea industry and the tea plantation workers; demands of the tea workers and memorandum of understanding; addresses of all the tea estates with some basic information, etc.

Contributors: Dr. Pratima Paul-Majumder, Nirmalendu Dhar, Dr. Noazesh Ahmed, Dr. Mahfuzul Haque, Philip Gain, Tapan Dutta, Dr. Nibash Chandra Pal, Khadiza Khanam, Alimul Hoque, AKM Nasim, FMA Salam, Shekhar Kanti Ray, Lucille Sircar, Naimul Haq, Debashish Majumder and ASM Sorful Islam.