Call for wage hike of tea garden workers

GUWAHATI: Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), one of the crucial biggest labour unions within the state, has asked the govt. to be sure that employees of the government-run tea gardens are paid day-to-day wages at par with the ones staff in other tea gardens within the Brahmaputra valley.

Workers in other tea gardens get Rs 167 consistent with day whilst the day-to-day wage of employees in government-run tea gardens is Rs 115, ACMS common secretary Rupesh Gowala said in a statement on Friday. “Workers hired within the 14 governments-owned tea estates within the state are paid Rs 115 as day-to-day wages. We have reminded the tea garden managements about this disparity in wages. Even employees have staged agitations in the past,” Gowala said. ACMS, all over a gathering with labour minister Pallab Lochan Das here on December 20, had submitted a memorandum highlighting this disparity in wages. Earlier this month, ACMS had criticized the state authorities for no longer with the ability to pay Rs 351 as day-to-day wages to all tea garden employees despite it being a ballot promise of BJP forward of the 2016 assembly election.