AASAA stages demonstration seeking hike in tea wages

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

CHAPAR, April 26: More than 500 tea garden labour under the banner of All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA)’s Dhubri district committee  on Saturday staged protests in front of the office of Chapar Tea Estate seeking adequate wages for tea garden workers.

They have demanded that the state’s tea garden workers be given a minimum wage of Rs 330 per day based on profits made by tea companies.

AASAA’s Dhubri district committee vice-president Rajen Horo and general secretary Golap Ch Boraik in a statement said that despite their repeated demands of increasing daily wages of tea workers to 330 , the magement of the tea gardens have turning deaf ears to their demands.

It may be mentioned that the wage agreement of tea workers in the Brahmaputra Valley is made between representatives of the planters’ association and Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha every three years. However, according to the latest agreement, workers in over 900 tea gardens in the Brahmaputra Valley get a daily wage of Rs 94. An AASAA leader said that many Adivasis work in tea gardens and they are struggling for survival despite their contribution to the state’s economy. “We will continue our agitation till our demands are met,” he added.