As I write this, I am sitting in a patio and sipping a lovely cup of the finest green tea available from Bangladesh, at a famous wilderness resort -- a tourist facility tucked away adjacent to the India- Bangladesh border in Sylhet, the principal home of an industry which sees over 450,000 tea workers selflessly supporting the Bangladeshi economy.
It was my honour to meet one such tea worker who resides near point zero on the pristine Lalakhal river -- yet it was disgraceful to witness the severe plight his community faces on a day-to-day basis to make basic ends meet. This article aims to reflect on the deep poverty and struggles of tea labourers -- with the hope that we as citizens can engage ourselves in a conversation regarding how we as a society can do better.
A brief history
Prepped to speak English when necessary and with an innate understanding of the history of his community, Hari Bahadur of Jaintiapur upazila graciously welcomed my family and I as we were walking around the river -- and offered us tea from his own home. He informed us that his predecessors are from the Gorkhali tribe -- people of Nepalese ethnicity who settled in this part of British India as part of Empire-driven relocation schemes.
By the powers vested in architect Cyril Radcliffe by British colonizers during the 1947 partition of the subcontinent, Bahadur’s home fell in East Pakistani territory -- with India being less than a kilometre away on the other side of an imperfectly drawn border. As destiny would have it, Bahadur recounted how members of his family fought for the freedom of Bangladesh during the liberation struggle of 1971. Nevertheless, the socio-economic results of an independent Bangladesh never truly benefitted him.
One hundred and twenty taka -- that is how much Hari Bahadur said he gets paid for a full 8-hour shift as a tea worker. To put this into context, tea labourers in the area earn less than $30 per month per worker -- as per Bahadur’s assertion. Imagine feeding a family with $30 per month. The phrase “economic slavery” comes to mind.
Hari Bahadur also happened to be a poet -- and he enthusiastically recited a couple of his poems for us. His words touched upon the appalling wages of tea labourers, their living conditions, his understanding of what hospitality is for tourists, and his reverence towards his family. While we left Hari Bahadur with a smile, we felt ashamed. Ashamed -- that we were part of a society that allowed for such heinous levels of exploitation against a social group whose hearts are bigger than those of privileged citizens or urban folk like us.
Tourists who come to this part of Sylhet are traditionally awestruck by the beauty of what is a secluded and deeply majestic part of a very different Bangladesh compared to the bustling, busy, and noisy scenes of Dhaka city -- but surrounding these designated tourist hotspots is a long and unending tale of poverty. And Hari Bahadur is merely one example of such a person whose life Bangladesh has failed to put appropriate value to.
Frightening circumstances
I did further digging into the circumstances around tea workers after meeting Bahadur -- the findings were frightening. Of the 450,000 tea workers in Bangladesh, most are women -- and a majority are lower caste Hindus or members of indigenous groups from over 80 different ethnicities. A recent survey by the state-run Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) indicated that approximately 74% of tea labourers in Sylhet live below the poverty line -- the national poverty rate being about 22%.
The general secretary of the Cha Sramik Union (BCSU -- Tea Worker’s Union) in 2021 told reporters of a prominent national English newspaper that tea workers received a daily wage of Tk120 -- these numbers highlight how Hari Bahadur and his colleagues in the tea industry survive in concerning conditions with wages that can only be aligned with modern day slavery.
In colonial India, the British were known for deceiving members of various ethnic populations to resettle in tea production hotspots such as Sylhet, with the promise of adequate financial support -- this process of exploiting tea workers continued through the turbulent Pakistan era and remains ever present as a systematic concern of what post-colonial legacy entails in independent Bangladesh.
Representatives of the Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA) have showed ambivalence when it comes to the findings of the BBS -- in 2021 the convener of the Labour Health and Welfare subcommittee of the BTA indicated that the seasonal nature of tea production, in conjunction with market forces which determine production costs, means that the needs of workers could not always be met.
Little to no support
Labour laws surrounding the status of tea workers continue to be problematic, with legislation, policy framing, and oversight clearly not up to the mark -- therefore while the share of the blame for the deprivation of the basic social, cultural, and economic rights of tea workers can be debated upon, the reality is that these individuals have continued to be a tool for economic exploitation for over a century, and it seems that we have simply gotten accustomed to it.
The Cha Sramik Union and its allies have been demanding the establishment of liveable wages from the government and tea producers in a loud, clear, and united voice. Yet, it is difficult for tea workers to organize themselves on a sustainable basis due to the remote locations many of them live in, in addition to broader issues surrounding geographical immobility -- but they remain resolute and continue voicing their opposition through collective bargaining initiatives.
Whether their voices are being respected or heard is another matter altogether. I hope that as tourists and privileged individuals like me visit spots in and around the tea gardens, we take time to understand the stories of the people who make places like these beautiful.
I hope that we do what we can to tell those in power that it is simply appalling to have such abhorrent levels of exploitation against tea workers -- and that purposeful change regarding this must happen, through the collaborative avenue of market-driven strategies and rigorous state-mandated policies.
Futile dreams?
Hari Bahadur wants to visit the Boi Mela in Dhaka one day to showcase his poems to the public -- I really hope he can do this. But there is very little one can say to comfort tea workers -- the truth is that they are the poorest of the poor in a country which only recently received approval to graduate from least developed country (LDC) status.
The effect of slave wages on these workers are not simply economic, but are prominent when it comes to other social indicators such as life expectancy and maternal mortality. One hopes that lawmakers and policymakers who represent these communities take immediate action to address and undo a historical wrong which continues to put shame to the story of an independent Bangladesh.
How can we celebrate 50 years of freedom so passionately, while failing to put value to the struggles of this marginalized, exploited, and oppressed group of people living in the country we call home? This is the question I end with.
Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed is a Toronto-based banking professional and a regular columnist for Bangladeshi media outlets. He can be reached at aftab.ahmed@alum.utoronto.ca.