7/24/2019 Bangladesh Tea Estate Workers Oppose Government

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Bangladesh tea estate workers oppose government’s land seizuresBy Wimal Perera9 February 201

World !o"ialist Web !itehttp#$$www%wsws%org$en$arti"les$201$02$09$bang&'09%html

(ver 1)*000 tea estate employees in northeastern Bangladesh’s +abigan, distri"t are 'ighting

government’s moves to seize land on whi"h they "ultivate paddy ri"e% -he .wami /eague&led government

wants the land to set up more low&wage "onomi" ones s3 'or 'oreign and lo"al investors% -he

+abigan, distri"t authorities have already taken over about )12 a"res at the 4handpur tea garden%

-he estate workers* who 'ormed a 5/and Prote"tion 4ommittee6 on 7e"ember 1* began holding protests

on 7e"ember 11% /o"al government authorities ignored the widespread opposition and the ne8t day

marked out the land to be seized at the 4handpur tea garden%

(n 7e"ember 1* thousands o' angry employees 'rom the 4handpur* :amgonga* ;oalbhanga and Begum

<han tea estates began taking industrial a"tion and o""upied the land% Workers 'rom 2 tea estates in the

nearby /askarpur =alley ,oined them in solidarity on 7e"ember 19 and held a rally on ;anuary 9% .demonstration was organised on ;anuary 22 by the ;atiya >ukti 4oun"il* whi"h warned the government

there would 5tougher measures6 unless it stopped taking over estate land%

For generations* tea plantation workers have been allowed to "ultivate paddy ri"e on surplus land in the

estates as a "ompensation 'or their poverty&level wages% -he estate workers’ 'ore'athers?mainly

impoverished landless 7alits who are "onsidered the 5lowest6 in the rea"tionary +indu "aste system? 

were sent to these areas in the 1@)0s by then British "olonial rulers o' Andia%

-ea estate workers are paid only 9 taka @9 ! "ents3 per day% A' they work 0 'ull days* their monthly

wage is 2*01C taka D2C3* whi"h is ,ust 9 per"ent o' average minimum wage o' a garment worker% state

workers re"eive a subsidised ration o' %) kilograms o' wheat a day per 'amily% -hey survive only by

growing their own 'ood on estate land%

.s )E&year&old .tit Bakti e8plained to the media# 5For 'our generations we have lived on this land and

this is the 'irst time we are 'a"ing this un"ertainty We will starve to death i' this land is taken 'rom us%6

.ll the establishment politi"al parties are working desperately to keep workers’ opposition trapped within

sa'e politi"al "hannels and prevent it 'rom "hallenging the government’s big business program%

Bangladesh Workers Party general se"retary .nisur :ahman >allik* 'or instan"e* 'ostered the illusion that

the government "ould be pressured to reverse its poli"y by de"laring that he would raise the land

a"Guisition poli"y in parliament% -he Bangladesh Workers Party is part o' the ruling "oalition that is

implementing the seizures%

-he !talinist 4ommunist Party o' Bangladesh and the !o"ialist Party o' Bangladesh* whi"h posture asopponents o' the government* issued a statement de"laring their 5solidarity with the protesting tea

workers%6 But the statement "overs up 'or the government’s plans to "reate "onomi" ones in the region

and attributes responsibility 'or the land seizures to unknown 5vested interests%6

-he statement de"lared# 5-his is a "onspira"y against the tea workers who have worked on in'ertile land

'or more than 1)0 years and turned it into arable land% How a group o' vested interests wants to take away

the workers’ only sour"e o' livelihood%6 At "alled on the government to 5allot some other* in'ertile land 'or 

7/24/2019 Bangladesh Tea Estate Workers Oppose Government

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the e"onomi" zone*6 but e8pressed no 'undamental di''eren"es with the plan to establish "heap labour

zones 'or big business investors%

-he government has mobilised .wami /eague members in the +abigan, distri"t to intimidate and

terrorise workers* while deploying poli"e to suppress protests and strikes%

(n ;anuary 1* 4hunarughat muni"ipal mayor .bu -aher* an .wami /eague member* and the ;ubo/eague* the party’s student wing* "onvened a rally against the protesting estate workers% -hey were ,oined

 by lo"al members o' the opposition Bangladesh Hationalist Party* ;atiya Party and 'undamentalist ;amaat&

e&Aslami% -he Bangladesh -ea /abourers nion reported that unknown thugs assaulted two tea estate

workers in 4hunarughat%

Workers took whatever they "ould 'ind to de'end themselves?in"luding arrows* bows and bamboo sti"ks

 ?and "hanted slogans su"h as* 5>y land* my mother* we shall not let them snat"h it away%6

Bangladesh "onomi" ones .uthority e8e"utive "hairman Paban 4howdhury told the media the

government would do whatever was ne"essary to impose the government’s program% 5-here are some

"hallenges in developing s* su"h as a"Guisition o' land* but we are making all&out e''orts to over"ome

those*6 he said%

Prime >inister !heik +asina de"lared# 5(ur duty is to "reate a business&'riendly environment* whi"h

we’re doing% >assive re'orms have been "arried out in in'rastru"tures and rules and regulations% We’ve

undertaken all types o' initiatives to "reate an investment&'riendly environment%6

-he government plans to establishment 100 s over the ne8t 1) years and wants to in"rease annual

e8port earnings this year to DE0 billion* up 'rom D1 billion in the 201EI201) 'inan"ial year% >ore than

0 sites have already been sele"ted 'or s* with +asina e8pe"ted to lay the 'oundations 'or 10 s this

month%

(n ;anuary 2)* the 7haka -ribune reported that +asina assured the Bangladesh Anvestment and Poli"y

!ummit 201 her government had the 5highest level o' "ommitment6 to lo"al and 'oreign investors%

.""ording to the newspaper* the prime minister told the summit that the 5se"urity and pro'itability o'investments are guaranteed in Bangladesh6 and 5you will never 'ind another "ountry like this anywhere

else%6