Wage board and hike double bill - State announces panel to recommend minimum pay in two years

BIRESWAR BANERJEE and AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Siliguri, Feb. 20: The state government today announced the formation of an advisory board of tea planters, union leaders and government officials who would recommend a minimum wage for tea workers in Bengal.

The once-in-three-years revised wages for garden workers were also announced today.

Labour minister Malay Ghatak said: "On February 17, the state labour department constituted the Minimum Wages Advisory Board which will advise the state on the matter of fixing and revising the minimum rates of wages payable to the employees... in tea plantations of our state."

He said the term of the board "will be for two years from the date of notification", which was done on February 17.

The advisory board, he said, will hold its first meeting on March 16 in Siliguri.

A minimum wage for tea workers has been the demand of almost all tea garden unions, other than Trinamul, which is not a part of the Joint Forum. The forum, an umbrella outfit of 24 tea labour unions, was spearheading the demand.

On the wage revision, Ghatak said the trade unions and representatives of planters had unanimously assented to the state's proposal to increase the existing tea wages by Rs 42.50 in the hills and Rs 37.50 for workers in the plains. Workers in the hills and plains will get Rs 132.50 as the revised wage in 2016 after the staggered hike.

The previous wage was Rs 90 in the hills and Rs 95 per day in the plains.

"The revised wage would be in force unless the minimum wage is stipulated and implemented in the industry. Once implemented, the tripartite agreement on revised rates, which was signed today, will become null and void," Ghatak said.

The wage revision agreement signed today will be effective retrospectively from April 1, 2014, with the next increments to be paid on April 1, 2015, and April 1, 2016.

The proposal for revision, mooted by Ghatak and placed on December 17 last year, proposes a hike of Rs 17.50 for the first year, followed by Rs 10 for the next two years (Rs 37.50 in total), for workers serving in plains.

"This means, tea workers in the plains will immediately receive Rs 112.50 as daily wage, and will get annual increments of Rs 10 for the next two years or otherwise, if the minimum wage is fixed by then, they will receive minimum wage," a senior trade union leader said.

"They will get it (the new wage) from the next payment date."

For the hills, the workers will get a hike of Rs 22.50 in the first year, followed by Rs 10 for second and third years each.

"We have been demanding minimum wages for tea workers since 2008. Earlier, the state was not ready to fix a time by which such wage will come into force. Today, however, they have announced that the advisory board will have to make its recommendation within two years," said Milan Pradhan, a spokesperson for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

"We also appreciate the state's decision to include Trilok Chand Roka, one of our key leaders, in the board," he added.

The minimum wage board would have eight government officials from various departments, nine representatives from five tea planters' associations, and 10 tea union leaders.