garik Sabha on wage issues of tea garden workers

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Oct 15: The All India Peoples' Forum (AIPF) organized a citizens' meet to discuss the approval of wage on the basis of the suggestion of wage advisory board (WAB) at Guwahati Press Club today.

WAB member Vivek Das said in the programme: "The state government decided last year to increase the daily wage of tea garden workers and formed WAB for this purpose, but unfortutely, the wage of Rs 177 per day as decided by WAB is not implemented till now in the state. The wage was decided as the floor-level minimum wage for any worker in the tea garden, which was not supported by the tea garden owners and Assam Chah Majdoor Sangha (ACMS) for their own profit. We condemn this step of ACMS and tea garden owners and demand to implement the minimum wage as Rs 177 as soon as possible for the development of the workers."

The meeting was presided by Gauhati University professor Dilip Bora and also attended by senior jourlists Manjit Mahanta, Pranjal Phukan, social activist Kankan Deka, AITUC president Upen Talukdar, central representatives of AATSA and AASA and commented on the issue.