GUWAHATI, March 10 � Asking the State Government to nullify the recent wage agreement made by the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) and the Consultative Committee for Planters� Association (CCPA), the All Adivasi Students� Association of Assam (AASAA) demanded the increase of daily wages of tea workers to Rs 330.
In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, the organisation said that the wage agreement of Rs 137 for a period of three years, which is below the State minimum wages of Rs 169, is gross injustice to the tea workers.
�The Chief Minister has declared the State minimum wages at Rs 169, but the ACMS and the CCPA have done the opposite by making an agreement which is below the minimum wages and far below the �living wages.� Therefore, we demand that the recent wage agreement be declared illegal,� said the memorandum.
The organisation further stated that in view of the sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities, the daily wages of tea workers should be Rs 330 as �living wages�. It also argued that it would be an economically sustainable move for the tea industry as many other States of the country are paying substantially higher wages to the tea workers. The daily wages for tea workers in Kerala stand at Rs 254, it said. The AASAA also demanded upon the State Government to implement all the laws related to wages and extend the benefits under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 and the Minimum Wage Act, 1948 so that the workers get justice at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the AASAA today submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi through the Kamrup Metro magistrate during a dharna programme in the Dispur Last Gate area, demanding immediate increase in the daily wages of tea workers to Rs 330 and repeal of the recent wage agreement of Rs 137 (three years) signed by the ACMS and the CCPA.
The AASAA alleged that Rs 137 is far below the State minimum wages of Rs 169 as declared by the Government itself. It demanded upon the Government to immediately issue the notification, fixing Rs 169 as daily wages for tea garden workers.