Sangsad Bhaban, June 23 -- Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Tuesday said some 31 tea estates across the country are at "high-risk" due to labour unrest stemming from unpaid wages and other worker-related grievances.

He disclosed the information while responding to a question from BNP reserved seat lawmaker Selina Sultana during the question-and-answer session in Parliament.

The minister said a special report prepared by the National Security Intelligence (NSI) on labour unrest in tea estates, centred on wage arrears, has identified the 31 gardens as vulnerable.

He noted that Bangladesh currently has no policy framework for classifying tea gardens as "sick" or financially distressed, and therefore no tea estate has official...