'We won't accept wage fixed by ACMS, CCPA'

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 2: The Akhil Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ABCMS) has blamed it on the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) for the very low daily wage fixed for the tea labourers of Assam at a meeting between the ACMS and the Consultative Committee of Planters’ Association (CCPA) recently.

Talking to newsmen in Guwahati today, ABCMS general secretary Dinesh yak said: “The ACMS has been working in favour of tea planters instead of working for the garden workers. We’re not going to accept the wage hike of Rs 43 in three years as fixed by the ACMS and the CCPA. This is ridiculous that at a time when Assam Chief Minister himself wants that the daily wage of tea workers be fixed at a meeting by forming a minimum wage council, the ACMS and the CCPA met in a clandestine way so as to tilt the agreement towards the planters. This is also ridiculous that when the Chief Minister himself wants that the minimum wage in the state shouldn’t be below Rs 169, according to the agreement signed, the tea workers of the state will get Rs 115 a day in 2015, Rs 126 in 2016 and Rs 137 in 2017.” The ABCMS leader said that they would continue to stick to their demand of Rs 333 as the minimum daily wage for the tea estate workers in Assam as suggested by the Supreme Court of India.   yak also raised the demand for payment of wage to the garden workers on Sunday, a holiday. At present, the garden workers are not getting wage for Sunday. “In order to raise our demands, we are going to stage a demonstration in front of the State Assembly on March 9,” he said.