Calcutta High Court seeks Bengal government affidavit on wage of tea estate workers

Justice Joy Sengupta of the high court’s Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench issued the order on a petition filed by Paschimbanga Cha Mazdoor Samiti, an independent trade union of tea plantation labourers

TT Correspondent, Jalpaiguri,  23.07.24 :  Calcutta High Court asked the Bengal government to submit an affidavit within three weeks on the steps it had taken to fix minimum wages in the tea sector.

Justice Joy Sengupta of the high court’s Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench issued the order on a petition filed by Paschimbanga Cha Mazdoor Samiti, an independent trade union of tea plantation labourers.

Diptangshu Kar, the lawyer representing the trade union, said it had filed another case earlier but the Mamata Banerjee government didn’t take any initiative to finalise the minimum wage.

In 2015, the state government constituted the minimum wage advisory committee to recommend the basic daily pay for tea estate workers.

“Since then, the state has announced interim hikes in the daily wage. However, the minimum wage has not been finalised or implemented in the tea belt. That is why a second petition was filed in the high court which today sought an affidavit from the government,” Kar said on Monday.

The committee that comprises representatives of tea planters’ associations and trade unions and officials of the state labour department couldn’t reach a consensus on the minimum pay.

The bench also asked the union to file an affidavit within a week, stating its opinion and other details of the subject.

A tea garden worker is paid a daily wage of ₹250 in Bengal. The state has around three lakh tea estate labourers.

Joyjit Choudhury, the additional advocate general who represented the state in the court, said the government was sympathetic to the issue.

“The state has constituted a committee and is working on the issue. The affidavit will

be filed within due time,” he said.

Anuradha Talwar, who is associated with the trade union, said workers wanted the minimum wage to be fixed at the earliest.

“The wage should be fixed by considering the All India Consumer Price Index, the inflation rate and other parameters. The existing wage, we believe, is comparatively low,” said Talwar.

The tea planters are dead against the minimum wage and went to the extent of saying that it would sound the death knell for the industry.