Small tea grower in Assam has expressed dissatisfaction over the one sided decision of government to hike worker’s wage. The decision taken is considered “unilateral” with difference in price hike for Brahmaputra valley workers and southern Assam’s Barak Valley.
The daily wage of a tea worker of the former is now ₹232 while for the latter it is ₹210. The decision came into effect on August 1, after Assam’s Labour Department had issued a notification.
The All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association’s President Rajen Bora said “The decision was taken without consulting us, and it is not possible for us to pay the new wages.” He even calls it an injustice on government’s part.
“The government first needs to put in place a mechanism to ensure the small tea growers get a minimum support price for their tea leaves,” he added.
The decision to correct the wages hike was taken in a meeting among CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, representatives of tea associations and workers’ unions.
“Happy to share that in a meeting with tea associations, it was decided to hike the workers’ wage by ₹27, thus raising their daily wage to ₹232 and ₹210 in Brahmaputra Valley & Barak Valley respectively,” the chief minister tweeted.
Sarma also mentioned that the welfare of tea garden workers has been government’s top priority.
