Cong tea cell for bonus from small growers

Guwahati, Sept. 25: The Congress tea cell is demanding that small growers pay bonus to labourers this year as the gardens have made a good profit.

In a missive to the labour department, the cell pointed out that the small tea growers had got Rs 17 for a kg of green leaves this year against Rs 8 last year.

“When they are making profit, they should share it with poor labourers,” it stated.

It is after a prolonged slump that the beleaguered tea industry has got a good bounty this year.

Tea cell chairman Bhagirat Karan told this correspondent that though there has been no major dispute over payment of bonus by the big tea companies this year, there has been a feeling of being left out of the bonanza among the labourers of small tea gardens.

The big tea companies have paid bonus to the range of 17 to 20 per cent this year.

“We have told the government that the small tea growers should be asked to pay Puja bonus this time so that the resentment among the labourers of these gardens does not snowball into a major crisis,” he added.

He said the tea growers should pay the bonus by the end of this month.

Assam has nearly 62,000 small tea growers who employ around 2 lakh labourers.

The cell’s demand assumes significance as it had played a crucial role in ensuring smooth settlement of bonus in the big tea gardens this year.

“Following the chief minister’s instruction, we (the cell) have worked overtime for the past month, holding meetings with tea organisations, labour unions and tea garden management to amicably resolve the issue,” Karan said.

According to the law, only those gardens that are confined to 15 bighas should be treated as “small”. But many gardens, which have been classified as “small”, have sprawling areas even to the extent of 2,000 bighas, he added.

“The law is also very clear that the Plantation Labour Act will be applicable to any garden which has more than 15 bighas,” he said.

The cell has demanded that the government declassify gardens having more than 15 bighas from the “small growers” list and bring them under the purview of the Plantation Labour Act. “It is unfortunate that some of the so-called small growers are depriving labourers of the rights ensured under the Plantation Act. We told the government to immediately rectify this,” Karan said.

Admitting discrepancies in the classification, a senior official of the labour department said they were not able to act tough at times because of political pressure.

He said many senior Congress leaders like Sarat Saikia, Sarat Borkotoky and Rameshwar Dhanowar, among others, had “small tea gardens” of more than 15 bighas. Even AGP leaders like Padma Hazarika and Keshab Mahanta have small gardens with more than 15 bighas.
source: telegraph india

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