On Tuesday, at the Barapukuria coal mine in Dinajpur, more than 1,000 coal miners went on strike after demanding increase in their bonus.
The workers are demanding a bonus of 30,000 taka each, but the mine authorities have rejected their demand. They have decided to give a bonus of 4,200 taka each, causing the workers to go on a strike for an indefinite period. Some are saying that the managing director of the company has paid 376,000 taka as profit bonus to a few employees but the other coal mine workers did not receive any portion of it.
Barapukuria Coal Mine Company has employed about 155 Chinese workers and 198 Bangladeshis. A Chinese contractor hired another 1,060 local workers. VOA Correspondent, Amir Khasru has more on this.