Union Minister of State for Commerce (independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman mounted pressure on the State government on the issue of minimum wages, sending signals to the industry that she wanted them to address this issue alongside an improvement in the condition of tea plantation workers.
Taking to task the State government, the industry and also the regulator the Tea Board of India (under her ministry), she said that the Centre would seek a report from the West Bengal Labour Department on the actual condition of the workers of the tea gardens in the state.
The Minister told a nonplussed industry that she had information that a section of plantation managers were making deductions from the wages of tea workers on account of the statutory and non-statutory benefits that were being given on account of the benefits that were extended under the Plantation Labour Act.
Ms. Sitharaman made these observations while addressing tea industry stakeholders during her two-day visit to North Bengal. She also visited two closed and abandoned tea gardens — Red Bank and Surrendranagar.
On the issue of closed tea gardens, the Minister said that this was a ‘legacy’ of the previous government which would have to be resolved. She asked the Tea Board and the industry to come out with a time-bound package to examine the chances of reviving these gardens. The matter would be discussed with the State government.
The Minister pulled up the Tea Board saying that it was failing to leverage the Indian tea brands such as Darjeeling. She said that Sri Lanka was doing an excellent job of branding their teas.
Industry was, however, disappointed that specific industry issues were not discussed at the meeting. Small tea growers urged the Minister to announce a policy on setting a minimum floor price of green tea leaf, as price volatility was affecting the small growers. They hailed her announcement on online licensing for small growers.
