The state labour department today issued a draft wage agreement proposing a staggered hike of Rs 42.50 a day for workers in the hills and Rs 37.50 for those in the plains for the next three years.
Officials said they would wait for five days for suggestions from tea trade unions and planters.
The draft proposed a hike of Rs 22.50 a day (retrospectively from April 1, 2014 up to April 2015) for workers in the hills, followed by a raise of Rs 10 for the next two years. It means, a total hike of Rs 42.50 per day in three years for hill tea workers who now get Rs 90 a day. For workers in the Terai and Dooars, the state has proposed a hike of Rs 17.50 daily (retrospectively from April 1, 2014 to April 2015) followed by an increase of Rs 10 for the next two years. This translates to a total hike of Rs 37.50 for those who earn Rs 95 per day now.
The Joint Forum, a common platform of 23 trade unions, has said it would not sign the draft as it does not mention anything concrete about fixing the minimum wage. The forum has, however, said that it will hold talks with the constituent members on December 19 to take the final call.
After the talks at Uttarkanya here this afternoon, state labour minister Malay Ghatak said: “With today’s talks, eight rounds of tripartite meetings have been held to decide the revised rates of wages that is due since April 1 this year. Today, we placed a draft agreement before the trade unions and tea planters.”
He added: “They (the planters and unions) have been asked to go through it and submit their suggestions to our department in five days. We would wait for the next five days. Once we receive their opinions, we will sit and discuss with our officials and move ahead towards signing the agreement.”
The draft proposed an additional Re 1 per day for tea hands who work for five days a week and Rs 2.50 a day for those who work for six days a week. “There is a proposal to introduce attendance allowance which would be an additional sum over the revised rate of wage. This would discourage absenteeism and encourage workers to join duties,” a senior official in the labour department said.
The draft also proposed that arrears — as the hike would be effective from April 1 this year — would be paid in three instalments by August 31 next year.
Ziaur Alam, the convenor of the Joint Forum and the Jalpaiguri district Citu secretary, said: “The state is trying to help planters by advocating another three-year wage agreement with a hike on an ad hoc basis. But nothing much has been mentioned in it about our demand to fix the minimum wages. We feel that if the agreement is signed, the process to formulate the minimum wage would be delayed for another three years. We are not ready to sign the agreement.”
He said the Joint Forum would inform the state labour department of its decision.
A Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations representative said: “The gesture is good but we need to discuss the rates among ourselves. There are other issues pertaining to workers. We want these to be incorporated.”
Dola Sen, state president of the INTTUC, the Trinamul workers’ union which is not a part of the Joint Forum, said: “We feel the agreement should be signed at the earliest. Some unions are trying to do politics and delaying the negotiation process because of their own interests. We condemn such acts and we would hold a public convention here on December 22 to apprise workers about the wrong intentions.”
Source: Telegtraph
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| Tea Garden in the hill |
The draft proposed a hike of Rs 22.50 a day (retrospectively from April 1, 2014 up to April 2015) for workers in the hills, followed by a raise of Rs 10 for the next two years. It means, a total hike of Rs 42.50 per day in three years for hill tea workers who now get Rs 90 a day. For workers in the Terai and Dooars, the state has proposed a hike of Rs 17.50 daily (retrospectively from April 1, 2014 to April 2015) followed by an increase of Rs 10 for the next two years. This translates to a total hike of Rs 37.50 for those who earn Rs 95 per day now.
The Joint Forum, a common platform of 23 trade unions, has said it would not sign the draft as it does not mention anything concrete about fixing the minimum wage. The forum has, however, said that it will hold talks with the constituent members on December 19 to take the final call.
After the talks at Uttarkanya here this afternoon, state labour minister Malay Ghatak said: “With today’s talks, eight rounds of tripartite meetings have been held to decide the revised rates of wages that is due since April 1 this year. Today, we placed a draft agreement before the trade unions and tea planters.”
He added: “They (the planters and unions) have been asked to go through it and submit their suggestions to our department in five days. We would wait for the next five days. Once we receive their opinions, we will sit and discuss with our officials and move ahead towards signing the agreement.”
The draft proposed an additional Re 1 per day for tea hands who work for five days a week and Rs 2.50 a day for those who work for six days a week. “There is a proposal to introduce attendance allowance which would be an additional sum over the revised rate of wage. This would discourage absenteeism and encourage workers to join duties,” a senior official in the labour department said.
The draft also proposed that arrears — as the hike would be effective from April 1 this year — would be paid in three instalments by August 31 next year.
Ziaur Alam, the convenor of the Joint Forum and the Jalpaiguri district Citu secretary, said: “The state is trying to help planters by advocating another three-year wage agreement with a hike on an ad hoc basis. But nothing much has been mentioned in it about our demand to fix the minimum wages. We feel that if the agreement is signed, the process to formulate the minimum wage would be delayed for another three years. We are not ready to sign the agreement.”
He said the Joint Forum would inform the state labour department of its decision.
A Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations representative said: “The gesture is good but we need to discuss the rates among ourselves. There are other issues pertaining to workers. We want these to be incorporated.”
Dola Sen, state president of the INTTUC, the Trinamul workers’ union which is not a part of the Joint Forum, said: “We feel the agreement should be signed at the earliest. Some unions are trying to do politics and delaying the negotiation process because of their own interests. We condemn such acts and we would hold a public convention here on December 22 to apprise workers about the wrong intentions.”
Source: Telegtraph
भारतको ऐन-सभाले १९४८ सालमा मिनिमम वेज एक्ट पारित गर्यो, जसलाई भारतका श्रमिकहरुको सुरक्षाको निम्ति बनाइएको भनियो। तर पनि दार्जीलिङ पहाड-तराई-डुवर्स र असमका चिया बगानका श्रमिकहरू मिनिमम वेज देखि वञ्चित छन्। अत्यन्त कम ज्यालामा यिनीहरूले आफ्नो श्रम बेच्नुपर्छ। दक्षिण भारतका चिया बगानका श्रमिकहरूले धेरै बेसी ज्याला पाउँछन्, तर बंगाल र असमको चित्र भने बेग्लै छ। यहाँका श्रमिकहरूले ९०-९५ रुपियाँ ज्याला थापेरै सन्तुष्ट हुन पर्दैछ। भनौं भने १९५१ सालको प्लान्टेसन एक्ट अनुसार बगान मालिकहरूले श्रमिकहरूलाई जे-जे सुविधाहरू दिन बाध्य छन् त्यो पनि यहाँका श्रमिकहरूले पाइरहेका छैनन्। समस्त अंचलभरि नै चलिरहन्छ कुपोषण-जिउँदो कंकालको मृत्युको सिलसिला। गत १०-१५ वर्ष देखि नै यहाँको चिया बगानहरूमा यस्तो घटनाहरू दिनचर्या भएर गएको छ।
ReplyDeleteतर कुटाई मात्रै खाँदै त इतिहास बनिन्दैन। शेष कालमा जुझारु मानिसहरूले नै इतिहास निर्माण गर्छन्, अधिकार आर्जनको इतिहास। यो अभूतपूर्व आन्दोलन पहाड-तराई-डुवर्सको चिया बगानहरूमा गुञ्जीरहेको छ। समस्त स्तरको श्रमिकहरू रणभूमिमा भेला हुँदैछन्। तिनीहरूको आवाजमा एउटै माँग छ— न्यूनतम मजदुरी वा मिनिमम वेज निर्धारण गर्नु पर्छ र लागु गर्नु पर्छ। यो भन्दा कम्ति कुनै सम्झौतामा यिनीहरू संग्रामदेखि पछि हट्नु राजी छैनन्। हामी पनि कसरी यो संग्रामको लप्कोको उत्तापदेखि टाढा बस्न सक्छौं र? त्यसैले यो चलचित्र। चिया बगानका श्रमिकहरूको ऐतिहासिक लडाईको रक्तिम दस्तावेज।
साथ दिनुहोस्।
https://vimeo.com/113154094
Minimum Wage Act was passed as a legislation in 1948. And it was said to be meant for the workers. But the tea garden workers of Darjeeling hills-Terai-Dooars and Assam are deprived of it. The workers in the tea gardens of southern India are paid much higher in comparison to their counterparts in West Bengal and Assam. The workers are mostly deprived of the benefits they deserve according to the Plantation Labour Act 1951. The entire region goes on witnessing malnutrition-starvation and rally of death. This has become a common scenario in this tea-belt since last 10-15 years.
But things cannot end in just facing deprivation helplessly. At the end it is people, the struggling people, who write the history, the history of winning their own right. An unprecedented struggle is flaring up now in the tea gardens of hills-terai-dooars. Workers from all strata are gathering in the path of struggle. They are demanding for determination and implementation of minimum wage. They would not settle in anything lesser. How could we keep ourselves apart from that heat? Thus comes this film. Snippets of documentation of this historic struggle of the tea garden workers.
Stand beside.
https://vimeo.com/113154092