Thousands of workers from tea gardens affiliated to 22 labour unions of north Bengal organised a rally at Siliguri in Darjeeling on Wednesday demanding a minimum wage structure for workers of tea gardens.
The workers who had assembled from nearly 300 tea gardens in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri , Alipurduar and even from smaller tea gardens of Uttar Dinajpur district walked a three-km stretch in Siliguri town. The representatives of the 22 labour unions submitted a memorandum to the Joint Labour Commissioner, North Bengal Zone.
“We demanded that the State government should finalise a minimum wage structure for the tea garden workers. The other demand was reopening of the five closed tea gardens of the region,” Chitta Dey, an octogenarian leader associated with labour unions told The Hindu .
Mr. Dey said that as per the 15th International Labour Conference and certain orders of the Supreme Court it was incumbent on stake holders to ensure a minimum wage structure with a variable component for workers of any industry.
The existing wage for tea garden workers is Rs. 95. Tripartite talks between labour unions, the tea garden management and the State government were going on. Several rounds of talks have failed to achieve any breakthrough.
Abhijit Mazumdar, a leader of All India Central Council of Trade Unions, a recognised trade union, said the State government has to ensure that owners of tea gardens pay minimum wages to workers, which will be decided after the talks.
Mr. Mazumdar added that a delegation of the joint forum of tea garden labour unions met Minister for Commerce and Industries (independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and apprised her of the issues relating to the plight of workers of tea gardens in north Bengal.
He expressed the fear that after the plucking season of tea leaves ends by October, certain tea gardens would be abandoned or closed by owners making the situation worse for workers.
Over the past few months, deaths due to malnutrition and diseases were reported in the locked out and abandoned tea gardens of north Bengal. The National Human Rights Commission asked the State government to send a report about the deaths.