Assam: Meeting held to discuss adequate wages for tea garden workers

Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 3 : A state-level multi-stakeholder consultation on setting adequate wages for the tea plantation workers was organised jointly by the Assam Labour Department and International Labour Organization (ILO) at Administrative Staff College in Guwahati on Saturday. 
The meeting was held under the Chairpersonship of the Principal Secretary of Labour and Welfare, Assam, and in the presence of the Labour Commissioner, at Administrative Staff College in Guwahati.
ILO Wage Specialist Anoop Satpathy and National Project Coordinator Ranjit Prakash also participated in the meeting. 

The Principal Secretary welcomed the representatives from the Government, the Tea Garden Management Associations, Tea Garden Unions and other experts.
He highlighted the commitment of the Government to fix the Minimum Wage in Tea gardens in a scientific manner and in accordance with the International Labour Standards.
He welcomed ILO’s collaboration and technical support in fixing adequate wages across the state in a timely manner.
ILO officials highlighted the commitment and proactive approach of the Assam Government in ensuring adequate wages to the workers.
Prakash, the National Coordinator, emphasised that Assam is the first state in the country to move forward to fix the minimum wage adequately in a scientific manner and through social dialogue as per the ILO’s labour standard, which will become a model state for many states of the country as well as some parts of the world.

A tripartite discussion happened on the existing wage situation and all participants appreciated the Government’s suggestion to fix the minimum wage adequately in the tea gardens scientifically as per the determinants given in Labour standards, with technical support of ILO.
It was decided to have a balanced approach and fix such wages through dialogue as facilitated by ILO, they agreed to proceed with the collaboration of the Government of Assam and ILO as per the blueprint presented by the ILO.
The state-level consultation was preceded by the Minimum Wages Advisory Committee, held under the Chairpersonship of the Labour Commissioner, Assam, on August 31 this year at Shram Bhawan in Guwahati, where the representatives from ILO were also present.
The roadmap along with the methodology of “setting adequate wages” for the scheduled employment was discussed in detail by the representatives of the Workers, Employers and subject matter experts, as members of the Committee.
ILO presented the preparatory activities on moving towards an evidence-based wage setting in the state and all the members appreciated the progress so far. It was agreed that this subject being highly technical requires several rounds of consultations before the announcement of the adequate minimum wage but should be completed in a timely manner as agreed earlier by the Committee.
This Committee also agreed with the Labour Department’s proposal to widen the scope of coverage of workers by including domestic workers under the Minimum Wage Board, which was appreciated by all and agreed to proceed with.
It is worth mentioning that Assam produces about 700 million kg of tea annually and accounts for around half of India's overall tea production.
The state is celebrating a year-long celebration of its tea industry reaching a crucial milestone of 200 years in 2023. Tea bushes were first discovered in the state way back in 1823.