Labour experts urged authorities to reform sections of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 to protect tea workers’ rights to accommodation, gratuity, and casual leave.

This call was made during a stakeholder meeting titled “Legal Reform for Tea Sector Workers,” organised by the Solidarity Centre at a hotel in Dhaka on Thursday.

Key recommendations included amending Section 28 of the BLA to ensure gratuity for tea workers, revising Section 115 for better casual leave provisions, and reforming Section 117 on earned leave.

Experts also proposed changes to Section 32 on eviction to secure housing rights for tea workers, as well as the inclusion of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union representatives in both the labour law reform committee and the national tripartite advisory commission.

Further recommendations addressed the need to protect the rights of both permanent and temporary tea workers, establish fair minimum wage calculations, and ensure elected union representation in workplace safety committees.

They also called for healthcare access for tea workers during garden closures and the enforcement of agreements through collective bargaining between the Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union (BCSU) and the Bangladesh Tea Association.

AKM Nasim, Solidarity Centre country programme director, stated, “Tea sector workers have been historically neglected. There is a pressing need for comprehensive engagement with tea workers to address all aspects of their lives and livelihoods. This approach must also focus on making the tea industry sustainable and vibrant.”

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), pointed out the industry’s historical inequities, saying, “Wages should not still be an unresolved issue. Workers shouldn’t bear the burden of others’ failures to conduct commerce.”

“We must break the cycle where tea workers’ children are destined to become tea workers themselves. Without change, their lives will never improve,” he added.

Former BCSU General Secretary Ram Bhajan Kairi criticised the lack of gratuity for tea workers, stating, “We need to reform or eliminate sections that unjustly exclude tea workers from the rights enjoyed by other sector workers. These laws are oppressive.”

Monika Hartsel, Solidarity Centre deputy country programme director, emphasised that despite being covered under the Bangladesh Labour Act, tea workers do not receive the same protections as those in other sectors, urging that reforms reflect a commitment to non-discrimination.

Journalist Md Habibur Rahman presented the keynote at the event, with Khandaker Shafin Habib, Solidarity Centre programme officer, moderating.