Tea workers seek hike in minimum wages

 Hundreds of tea garden workers, under the banner of the All Tea Tribe Students’ Association (ATTSA), staged demonstrations in various tea gardens of Dibrugarh district, seeking hike of minimum daily wage to Rs 351 from the current wage of Rs 167.

• Until recently, tea garden workers in the Brahmaputra Valley were paid a daily wage of Rs 137. On July 8, the state government hiked the wages by Rs 30 taking it to Rs 167. Similarly, the wages of tea garden workers in the Barak Valley were hiked to Rs 145 from Rs 115.

Major problems of labourers working in tea garden
• No permanent employment: Most of the tea garden labourers are basically from the “adivashi” community and the local people. These people are the most exploited ones in the tea gardens. Most of them work as part-time labourers as per production and requirement and peak season. A small proportion of these workers is also engaged in factory, office etc. Adult males and females are equally employed. Though child labour is not prevalent, yet in few remote gardens children are employed in plucking, weeding, hoeing, and nursery work.

• Low wages: Tea labourers are paid the lowest wages in comparison to any other labourers in the organised sector. During the peak season, tea gardens employ temporary workers at wages much lower than the actual minimum wage. Most of them act as daily waged manual workers. In big tea gardens, the workers are paid bonus during festivals and also extra amount if the output is more than required.

• Poor living conditions: One of the basic problems faced by labourers is that they have to stay in over-crowded and unhygienic living conditions in the residential colonies. They live in poor socio-economic conditions and most of these labourers remain ignorant due to illiteracy. The labourers suffer from various diseases and health problems that are mainly due to poor personal and household hygiene, poor sanitation and housing, including lack of education.

• Health problems: The poor living conditions make these labourers vulnerable to various communicable diseases. There are health problems due to poor working conditions in the tea factories. According to a research report, the major health problems faced by the labourers are worm infestation, respiratory problems, diarrhoea, skin infections, filariasis and pulmonary tuberculosis. Hypertension, epilepsy, back-pain are other health problems. There are some who suffer from underfeeding. Some health problems are due to the excessive use of alcohol and tobacco. Thinness among adults and micronutrient deficiency disorders like anemia are also prevalent. The children also suffer from under-nutrition and most of them are underweight.

• No health benefits: Under the Plantation Labour Act 1951, each tea garden should have a health centre with proper medical facilities. However, the gardens are remotely located and the health centres are located in distant towns. The workers do not have proper connectivity to these centres. There are no maternity benefit schemes available for the female tea garden workers. It has been found that women are engaged in hard jobs even during pregnancy and post natal period.

By: Ziyaur Rahman