Workers demand bidi price reduction

Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Bidi Sramik Federation demands reduction of bidi price and stop multinational tobacco companies aggression in the sector.
They upheld the demand through a discussion meeting on responding to the proposed budget for 2023-24 fiscal year. The discussion meeting held on Sunday at the National Press Club. At the meeting, the labor leaders expressed their congratulations, thanks and gratitude to the Prime Minister for not increasing the tariff on bidis in the proposed budget.

Bidi Workers placed a four-point charter of demands. Their demands are reduction of tariff from Tk 18 to Tk 16 on bidis in the 2023-24 budget, to repeal discriminatory advance income tax on cigarette and bidi, increasing the wages of bidi workers and stopping of low quality cigarettes of British American Tobacco.

Harik Hossain, Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Bidi Sramik Federation read a written statement at the discussion meeting. In a written statement, he said that the main competitor of bidi is low quality cigarettes. Currently, 77 percent of the cigarette market is low. Most of these low quality cigarettes are owned by foreign companies.
Bangladesh Bidi Sramik Federation General Secretary Abdur Rahman, Organising Secretary Abdul Gafur, Publicity Secretary Md Shamim Islam and Assistant Organising Secretary, Abul HasnatLavlu were also present there, among others.