Tea garden owners depriving workers of daily wage: Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal demanding that the tea garden workers must get their full wages amid lockdown caused due to coronavirus pandemic. ATTSA president Dhiraj Gowala said despite the Central and State governments’ order, the tea owners have not yet fully provided the daily wages of the workers during the lockdown period.

Further, Gowala argued that the tea garden owners have falsely cited that the tea industry incurred Rs. 1,200 crore losses during the first 17 days of the lockdown. This was done to evade payment to workers, ATTSA claims. “The annual turnover of the tea industry is Rs. 2,000. It is not possible that in 17 days the industry will suffer such huge losses,” Gowala asserted.

He said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on March 29 announced that under Disaster Management Act 10 (2) (1), the daily wages of all the industrial workers should be paid. “On April 2, the Assam Government Labour Commission office issued an order (PLA 7/06/PT-I) stating that the daily wages of the tea workers should be paid during the lockdown. In this regard, the Labour Commissioner gave his direction to the Assistant Labourer Commissioner and other labour officers. However, the tea owners have only paid one-time assistance of Rs. 500 to the workers,” said Gowala.

Further, the leader said that the tea workers are working during the lockdown period by putting their lives in danger. The workers are also working in Golaghat district, which has been categorized as COVID red zone, the leader added.

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