IGJF demands minimum wages for tea garden workers

SILIGURI, :Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) on Monday carried out a rally in Siliguri and staged protest in front of Shramik Bhawan in Siliguri, demanding minimum wages among otherstea garden workers. The members also wrote letters to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Labour minister Malay Ghatak, seeking inclusion of Minimum WagesAct.

The party threatened that if minimum wage is not implemented, they will continue with their agitation.

IGJF’s trade union wing Hamro Hill Terai DooarsChiyabari Sramik Sangh (HHTDCSS) demanded, “The rights of the workers must be key issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in Bengal.”

As the election approaches, the central committee of HHTDCSS has urged all political parties and candidates to commit to securing statutory minimum wages and social justice for tea garden workers in the Hills, Terai and Dooars regions of North Bengal.

IGJF chief Ajoy Edwards said, “Despite repeated representations and a Calcutta High Court order of August 1, 2023 directing the government to finalize minimum wages within six months, tea garden workers continue to be paid only Rs. 220 per day with unauthorised PF deductions and non-deposited PF contributions, causing severe hardship.”

He added, “We have been raising the demand for the immediate implementation of minimum wages in the tea gardens of the Terai-Dooars region for many years, but to date, the government has not heeded the demands of the tea workers. Today's protest is just the beginning. If the government does not listen to our voice, we will prepare the outlines of future programs with all the workers of the hills, the Tarai, the Dooars.”

Edwardsmentioned that the charter of demands includes immediate implementation of statutory minimum wages, deposit of all pending provident fund dues, effective enforcement of labour laws and other issues.

He said that workers seek clear commitments from candidates in the upcoming election to protect their rights, ensure dignity of labour, and bring justice to tea garden communities.