Nirmala fringe benefit query for planters - Minister wants minimum wage fixed soon

Nirmala Sitharaman in Siliguri on Sunday. Picture by
 Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, May 17: Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union minister of state for commerce and industry who was on a tour of closed tea estates in the Dooars, today chastised planters for denying fringe benefits to garden labourers, sources present a the meeting said.

"We have come to know that there has been curtailment in the fringe benefits of tea workers. We want the state labour department to find out if the allegations are correct. If there is no curtailment, the workers should be assured of that as most labourers do not know what benefits they are entitled to. But in case the allegations are true, the department should ensure that such curtailment stops in each of the estates of the region," Sitharaman told a news conference here this afternoon.

Under the Plantation Labour Act which governs the tea industry, workers are entitled to fringe benefits such as provident fund, gratuity, housing, ration, firewood, education and health care facilities for their families from the respective planters.

Tea industry sources said that in most gardens, specially in the Terai and Dooars, labourers often face irregularities in fringe benefits.

Earlier in the day, Sitharaman held a meeting with representatives of planters' associations, trade unions, small tea growers and bought leaf factory owners. Officials of the tea board, state labour department and the administration were present, as were north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb and Darjeeling BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia.

The meeting was held at a hotel in Siliguri for around two hours.

Sources present at the meeting quoted Sitharaman asking the planters: "We have information that you are not providing fringe benefits to workers and only paying the daily wage of Rs 122.50. Is this correct?"

Asked about taking over closed tea estates - Sitharaman had visited the shut Redbank and Surendranagar gardens, both at Banarhat in Jalpaiguri, yesterday - the Union minister said: "Takeover is not a problem. But the issue is, can we run the gardens? I believe that it is necessary to evolve a mechanism and have people with professional skills on board who can come, take over and run these gardens. Also, there is no logic in fixing a time to reopen the gardens because if a new owner does not turn up within that time, nothing can be done. We would, in association with the state, try to reopen these gardens."

Sitharaman, who had spoken in favour of fixing a minimum wage for the tea industry at a stakeholders' meeting in Guwahati last year, today said Bengal should implement it fast.

"We have learnt that a committee has been formed to fix the minimum wage for tea workers. One meeting of the committee has been held and the second meeting would be held soon. There has been some progress but we want the minimum wage to be fixed and implemented at the earliest," she said.

"The USP of this region is that it produces tea, including Darjeeling Tea. We will make sure that the tea board works in greater consonance with planters so that export of tea can be augmented. This would help the region earn benefit of foreign exchange."

After the meeting today, the Union commerce and industry ministry announced the approval of Rs 1,425 crore for a tea development and promotion scheme by the tea board for the 12th Five Year Plan.

The money would be spent for development of plantations, upgrade of quality, promotion, human resource development, research and development, development of small tea growers and national programme for tea regulation.