Tinsukia tea workers demand hike in min daily wages

Dibrugarh: Tea garden workers across several tea estates, including the Tipuk tea estate and Raidang tea estate, on Tuesday held a two-hour demonstration in Tinsukia’s Doomdooma, demanding an immediate hike in their minimum daily wages.Supported by the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA), the protest, which was held from 7 am to 9 am, saw workers raise slogans against the state govt, bringing plantation operations to a temporary halt. While the workers are being paid a minimum daily wage of Rs 250, they demanded that it should be increased to Rs 351, with immediate effect.Despite welcoming the govt’s decision to grant a financial assistance of Rs 5,000 each to all tea workers, under the Mukhya Mantrir Eti Koli Duti Paat scheme, on completion of 200 years of the Assam tea industry, the workers said the one-time payment was insufficient to address their financial struggles.“Due to skyrocketing prices, tea garden workers are finding it difficult to run their families. We would have been more happy if the govt had increased the daily wages of tea workers from Rs 250 to Rs 351, instead of the one-time grant,” said Malati Karmakar, a tea plucker from Tipuk tea estate.The demonstrators also raised concerns about pending dues related to retired tea garden workers. “Many of the retired workers are living in financial distress because their PF and gratuity amounts have not been released even after several years of retirement,” an ATTSA representative said, calling it a grave injustice to workers.Sounding a warning, ATTSA leaders said that if their demands were not addressed promptly, they will be compelled to intensify their agitation.