Kolkata, Feb 24 (IANS) The monthly pay of tea estate workers in West Bengal will be in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the state has formed a committee to oversee and implement the same, a tea workers' union leader said Tuesday.
"After holding a series of talks, it was decided by the tea estate stakeholders including workers and the state government that the monthly remuneration of workers will be based on the Minimum Wages Act," Ziaul Alam, a leader of the state's Joint Forum of Trade Unions of Tea Industry, told media persons here.
The joint forum is a conglomerate of 24 tea industry trade unions in the state.
The Minimum Wages Act lays down the bare monthly remuneration for skilled and unskilled workers which varies across states. However, adherence to the Act is not compulsory.
In West Bengal, the law is applicable to most of the industrial sectors excluding agriculture and agro industries.
Alam also said the trade union forum was demanding reopening of the seven closed tea gardens in Cooch Behar and Darjeeling in north Bengal, which traditionally has been the centre of tea cultivation.
"When the tea industry is booming and the government is earning huge revenue from it, seven tea gardens of the total 270 in the state are closed. This is affecting many workers. For the past three years, neither the state government nor the centre has made any stride to reopen them," he said.
Alam said at least Rs.5,000 crore goes to the state and central governments from tea export-related taxes.
The state provides a grant of Rs.1,500 each month to workers of closed tea gardens. The figure has remained stagnant since 2010-11.
During 2012-13, the financial aid -- christened Financial Assistance to the Workers in Locked Out Industrial Units -- was extended to 19,393 labourers across 208 shut units. The total sum paid was Rs.34.98 crore.
The trade union leader said it becomes impossible for workers to sustain their family and livelihood with just Rs.1,500 in hand and it needs to be increased.
"We have asked the (state) government to look into it during the upcoming budget", he said.
The opening match of the World Cup 2023 will be played between defending champions England and Ne
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij has stated the violence in Nuh. Anil Vij has said that Monu Manesa
Weather patterns are changing rapidly in North India. Mercury is falling rapidly in all the state
The world's most expensive film Avatar - The Way of Water is releasing tomorrow. The film is made
The US has said that DNA tests will not be conducted on the body of slain al-Qaeda leader Ayman a
During a program at Shivaji Park, Uddhav Thackeray targeted Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his
The Health Department is increasing the list of children and adolescents along with vaccination.
An incident like misbehavior with women in Manipur has also come to the fore in Meerut, UP. The v
PM Modi in ASEAN Summit PM Modi today addressed the 43rd ASEAN Summit going on in Jakarta. PM Mod
Singapore Global Schools Foundation: Singapore-based Indian-origin Global Schools Foundation (GSF
