Tea workers of the state-owned National Tea Company Limited (NTC) have launched an indefinite strike since Tuesday to protest their unpaid wages for six weeks.

According to official sources, at least 11,286 workers in NTC’s 12 tea gardens across the country stopped working by forming human chains in the gardens and staging protests.

On Friday afternoon, thousands of workers from Chandichara tea estate escalated the protest by blocking the old highway in Chandichara area of ​​Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj.

Bangladesh Tea Workers Union general secretary Nipen Paul told The Daily Star today that the strike reflects deepening frustration over payment delays that have left around 40,000 people who rely on tea workers’ income in precarious conditions.

Chandichara Tea Garden Panchayat Committee president Ranjit Karmakar criticized the garden authorities for not fulfilling their repeated promises regarding fees and rations.

Karmakar said workers were forced to work for six weeks without pay or basic ration cards, making it increasingly difficult to support their families.

Workers have warned that if payments are not made soon, further action will be taken, including highway closures. Our Moulvibazar correspondent reported that a two-hour road closure led to significant traffic disruptions in Chunarughat upazila on Friday afternoon.

While tea garden workers like Rita Ganju expressed their struggle to meet their family needs without pay, Dilip Bhar highlighted the difficulty of working without pay and the famine affecting their families.

Rambhajan Kairi, former general secretary of the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union, said NTC workers stopped coming to work from Tuesday.

In Habiganj district alone, workers in three NTC tea estates have stated that they will continue the strike for another three to four days if wage issues are not resolved. Kairi said the workers, whose daily wage is Tk 170, were not calling for a raise or new demands but only for payment of their overdue wages.

Kairi added that the workers were ready to resume work as soon as their dues were paid, but garden officials could not provide a timeline for payment.

Selimur Rahman, manager of Chandichara Tea Garden, said that tea leaves will go to waste due to lack of manpower. He said efforts to pay workers’ dues were ongoing, but warned that continued disruptions could lead to a larger crisis affecting both workers and business owners.

In response to the strike, NTC Managing Director Emdadul Haque said the company was actively trying to resolve wage issues. He said the absence of a fully reconstituted board of directors was hampering NTC’s ability to obtain a loan from the Bangladesh Agricultural Bank. However, he expressed hope that they will be able to meet their wage obligations once the board is reconstituted.

Haque also said that this period is critical for tea production and if the ongoing strikes are not resolved immediately, it could seriously affect the garden activities.