Wednesday | 15 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Wednesday | 15 January 2025 | Epaper

Female workers of Kushtia rice mills in distress

Published : Wednesday, 28 December, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 259
PM Serajul Islam
KUSHTIA, Dec 27: The female workers of the rice mills in the district are are passing days in distress.
At least 15,000 female workers of the rice mills of the district are being deprived of fair wages.
A total of 8,000 rice mills have been set up in six upazilas of the district where at least 20,000 men and women are now working as day-labourers.  The female workers are passing hard times due to wage discrimination and price-hike of essential commodities, according to Kushtia Rice Mill Owners Association sources.
The sources said that the wages of the female workers are less than that of the male workers though they work equally as men do under the same sun, rain, storm and other natural calamities.
Apart from this, most of the female labourers are uneducated, divorced, widows or deserted by their husbands. These women boil and dry paddy in the sun and produce rice from paddy through the mills.
At the end of the day, a female worker gets  Tk 120,  while a  male worker gets  Tk 160, said sources, adding that the female workers are not paid wages if they work half-day or take rest due to illness.
Besides, the female workers are not provided with special allowance, health and social security during pregnancy though they play a vital role in enriching the economy of the district by working in the rice mills.
Rahima, 50, a divorced woman having three children,  has been working as a day-labourer in the Rashid Rice Mill situated at Poradha area in Kushtia Sadar Upazila of the district for 25 years, said sources, adding that she has to maintain her family by earning money from the mill.
Another day-labourer Soukjan nesa, 45, a blind widow having two daughters, said that she has to work at the same rice mill in order to survive. But she does not have any medical treatment.
Most of the rice mill workers, especially female workers,  are now suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory diseases since there is no proper medical management for them, said sources.
Khajanagor, Poradha, Bitipara, Ailcara, bottoul and dostopara are six villages famous for rice mills in Sadar Upazila, said sources, adding that in these rice mills, the female workers also get less salary..
Life has become difficult for them. The female workers of the rice mills have already appealed to the Rice Mill Owners Association to increase their wages immediately.
District Rice Mill Owners' Association President Abdul Mojid said, at present, the rice mill workers cannot maintain their families with their wages since the prices of daily commodities have shot up.
The female workers are passing hard times due to wage discrimination between man and woman, he further said.
District Woman Affairs Officer Nur-E Sofura Ferdous said, steps have not yet been taken to develop the status and lifestyle of the women working at the rice mills in the district, adding that a letter would be sent to the authorities concerned in this connection.







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