Tea minimum wage panel awaits CM nod - Talks on pay revision on Nov 6

Malay Ghatak

TT, Siliguri, Nov. 3: Bengal labour minister Malay Ghatak today said names for a committee to be formed to fix a minimum wage in the tea industry had been finalised and once they were approved by the chief minister’s office, the panel would be asked to recommend the rate in six months.

“We have finalised the names of representatives of tea garden trade unions, planters, government officials and some others for the proposed committee that will be mandated to moot a minimum wage in the industry. The names have been sent to the chief minister’s office for approval. Once the approval comes through, we would follow necessary rules and notify the committee, which would have 11 to 15 members, and its terms of reference,” Ghatak said over the phone from Calcutta.

“Once the committee is constituted, it will be provided with a time of six months or so to speak to the people concerned, prepare a report and recommend the minimum wage,” he added.

No minimum wage exists for the tea industry in Bengal.

The current daily minimum wage for unskilled agricultural workers in the state is Rs 206. Tea workers are regarded as skilled hands.

The minister also said he would hold a meeting with leaders of tea trade unions in Calcutta on November 6 to discuss the revision of wages that was due from April 1.

“I had discussed the revision of wages with representatives of tea planters on Friday. They proposed a staggered hike of Rs 30 over the next three years or in other words, an annual hike of Rs 10,” said Ghatak.

“The government, on the other hand, wants an increase of Rs 40 for the same period, with an increase of Rs 18 in the first year and Rs 11 each for the following two years. Now, the government wants to sit with trade union leaders and put the proposal before them.”

The previous three-year wage agreement in the tea industry expired on March 31.

So far, six rounds of tripartite talks involving the government, trade unions and planters have been held without any results.

Ghatak said: “The talks with the trade unions will be held at the New Secretariat Building in Calcutta on November 6. If anything positive comes out of the meeting, we will fix a date and call the next round of tripartite talks.”

The minister’s proactive role vis-a-vis the wage agreement has been attributed to the decision by a forum of 23 trade unions, except that of the Trinamul Congress, to observe a 48-hour strike in the tea industry on November 11 and 12 and a 12-hour general strike in north Bengal on November 12 on the issue. The BJP has also called a general strike in north Bengal on November 7 to demand an immediate agreement on the wage revision.

The trade unions said they had been frequently demanding a minimum wage for the tea industry and the government had finally acted.

“We would be happy if the minimum wage is recommended early and the state implements it immediately,” said Chitta Dey, the convenor of the Co-ordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers, an apex body of 17 trade unions.

“However, we haven’t yet received any communication from the state labour department on the November 6 meeting. It is quite tough for most of us to make transport arrangements and reach Calcutta on time,” he added.

Senior officials in the labour department in Siliguri said letters had already been sent to all the trade unions.