Tea is undoubtedly one of the most heavily consumed beverages in our country. We are also proud of the fact that Bangladesh is one of the top 10 tea exporting countries in the world.

However, in recent days we have seen tea workers have involved in a movement to demand for better pay.

The amount of work they put on and the wages they get is insufficient to the current living expenditure. Many wouldn’t even believe the amount they get. A tea worker after working for 8 hours and collecting 23kgs of tea leaves get 120 Taka (equivalent to $1) in return and the flawed tea leaves don’t even get counted.

If we calculate their month income by 120 Taka per day, the amount is just over 3000 Taka and only if they could collect 23 kgs of leaves They have to spend the month only with this small income.

This small income barely gets them nutritious food and wearable clothes. Their day starts with taking salt tea and bread, taking smashed leaves and rice as their lunch and dinner.

Around 125,000 workers in the country’s 241 tea estates have been holding protests demanding their daily wages be raised to 300 Taka from 120 Taka.

“We cannot buy two kgs of rice with our daily wage. How can we bear our living expenses with such poor pay? We will not be able to survive without our wages hiked,” said Mohan Urang, a tea worker in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila of Sylhet.

“We are victims of discrimination. We are not paid just wages. We will not resume work until our demand is fulfilled,” said Bishwajit Robidas, a worker in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila.

“Nowadays, we can’t even afford coarse rice for our family with this amount,” Anjana Bhuyian, a tea plucker, told the AFP news agency.

“A wage of one day can’t buy a litre of edible oil. How can we then even think about our nutrition, medication, or children’s education?” the 50-year-old said.

By dint of the strenuous labour of tea workers, the tea garden owners are making millions.

But it is distressing to see the lack of respect they give them in return. They are under paid, under fed and under respected. Is this what humanity all about.

The tea board should also be blamed for the low wage of the tea workers.

In 2010, the tea board decided the tea workers pay 48 Taka daily.

According to the last Gazette, the tea workers pay was decided 120 Taka after 11 long years. With The increased price for foods and necessary commodities, even their demand of 300 Taka wage per day seems inadequate.

We have to ensure their proper nutrition and wellness. These hard working people contribute to our GDP. The better remuneration of tea workers is a demand of time, tea workers will get fair pay in coming days is our belief.

Meanwhile, a section of students of the University of Chittagong formed a human chain expressing solidarity with the demand of tea workers.

In universities in Dhaka and Sylhet, students also rallied, calling the tea workers victims of “modern-day slavery.”

The movement started on August 9, when workers from 241 tea gardens of the country abstained from work for two hours, demanding 300 Taka as daily wages. As their demand was not met, they decided to go on a full-scale strike from August 13.

The strikes by the tea workers have become a rallying point for many in the nation of 160 million people, as rising inflation and high food prices add to the wider frustration about low wages.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest tea producers, exporting tea to more than 20 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

Most tea workers are low-caste Hindus, the descendants of labourers brought to the plantations by colonial-era British planters in the 19th century.

Luchee Kandu and her husband work on a plantation. They say little has changed for tea workers over the generations.

“We hardly get any type of facilities, don’t have enough money for our children’s education, we barely get 3kg flour as ration once a week. Some days we don’t even get to eat, which is why we are protesting,” Kundu told Al Jazeera in Srimongal, known as Bangladesh’s tea capital.

Researchers say tea workers – who live in some of the country’s remotest areas – have been systematically exploited by the industry for decades.

The United Nations says they are one of the most marginalised groups in the country, with limited access to basic facilities and education.

“Tea workers are like modern-day slaves,” said Philip Gain, director of the Society for Environment and Human Development research group, who has written books on tea workers.

“The plantation owners have hijacked the minimum wage authorities and kept the wages some of the lowest in the world.”

Labor leaders are calling for immediate wage hikes in all trades. “There are no other options but to raise wages without delay to help workers survive,” said Nazma Akter, a former child worker and executive director of the Awaj Foundation, a labor rights organization.

Noting the lack of follow-through on the wage board and rations, she said, “The wage hike issue is being discussed among the labor organizations separately, and we may sit together soon to devise a strategy to press home the demand.”