Interim tea pay mooted for Bengal

TT, Siliguri: The Bengal labour department has suggested an interim hike of Rs 17.50 in the daily wage of tea garden workers as no headway could be achieved on the pay revision despite many meetings.

A three-year deal that had agreed on the daily wage of Rs 132.50 expired on March 31 last year. The revised wage structure was to have come into effect on April 1, 2017.

"Most trade unions are not ready to go in for another revision and insist on announcing a minimum wage in the tea sector. Although many meetings were convened by the labour department to discuss the wage revision with planters and the unions, no decision could be taken. In such a situation, the labour minister has proposed an interim hike of Rs 17.50 over the current wage, which means the revised pay would be Rs 150," said an official of the labour department.

The proposal has been sent to the planters' associations, but they are yet to respond, said the official.