Assam Govt Hikes Daily Wage Of Tea Garden Workers By Rs 38

The Assam government on Friday decided to increase the wages of tea garden workers by ₹ 38. It will be applicable from February 23 of this calendar year. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with representatives of Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha and other tea bodies to discuss matters pertaining to wage fixation.

Tea garden workers in Brahmaputra Valley will now get ₹205 from the existing ₹ 167 and those of Barak Valley will get ₹ 183 from the existing ₹ 145.

Meanwhile, on May 26, the state government cancelled its earlier notification that had increased the daily wage of tea garden workers by ₹ 50, reported Assam Tribune. The notification had been challenged by tea associations in the Gauhati High Court and the court had stayed it. The petitioners had contended before the court that no committee/ sub-committee, as required under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, had been formed before deciding on the daily wage hike.

"Since the February 23 decision by the government to raise the daily wages of the tea garden workers and the subsequent court order, we considered it crucial to find a special solution, in the interim. Today, we have made a headway on that," Sarma said, as reported by The New Indian Express.

Assam produces roughly 55 per cent of India's tea. The state has more than 10 lakh tea workers in the organised sector, working in around 850 big estates. It even became a poll issue during the recently concluded Assembly elections in the state. Congress had promised to hike the wages to ₹ 365 if voted to power.

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