Tea garden owners not following health advisory: Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) has alleged that the tea garden owners are not following the health advisory to prevent corona outbreak.

Meanwhile, the ATTSA has already called for a 48-hour shutdown from Monday, as a preventive measure against the dreaded virus.

ATTSA argued that the owners should follow the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 which states the closure of tea gardens during a natural calamity.

Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association president Dhiraj Gowala said that there was no mention of tea gardens when the Assam government on Monday, ordered a lockdown from March 24 to March 31.

“The Assam Labour Commissioner issued an order on March 18, asking every tea garden owner to make enough water and soap available for the workers to wash hands. But the order was not implemented. According to the guidelines the workers should maintain a distance of 1 meter among themselves while working. However, while plucking tea leaves and collecting wages, the advisory was not followed”, Gowala asserted.

He added that on March 19, the Labour Commissioner issued another order for the tea gardens to appoint a nodal officer in every district which has tea estates. According to the Labour Commissioner, Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) or a Labour Officer will be eligible to work as a nodal officer; however, in maximum districts there are no ALCs.

Further, the body stated that the population density of workers in the tea estates is very high thus the government should take necessary measures to prevent corona outbreak in these regions.

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