February 19, 2014
State Govt. to meet tea planters on 25 Feb
With the the current three-year wage agreement expiring on 31 March the state labour department is scheduled to convene a tripartite meeting at the Siliguri Circuit House on 25 February by inviting all operating associations of planters and workers in the Terai, Dooars and Darjeeling Hills.
Besides operating associations in the Terai and the Dooars, the department has also asked the planters` associations and trade unions in Darjeeling Hills to attend the meeting. The meeting has been called to finalize the tea workers` wages for the next three years. The current three-year wage agreement expires on 31 March and a new tripartite wage agreement is set to be in place from 1 April.
The state government has a decided to hold the first meeting in Siliguri.
The state labour minister may attend one of the meetings during the final stages. The last of the meetings is likely to be held at Uttarkanya.
Trinamool-led tea workers` union led by State INTTUC President Ms. Dola Sen has informed its Hill unit to attend the meeting with a view to involving the GJMM-backed trade unions in the Hills in the tripartite meet.
Tea workers had been paid Rs 85 a day for the first year from Rs 67 through the tripartite agreement, while the rate of payment was Rs 90 and 95 for the second and third years respectively, when the Trinamool came to power.
