Gangtok/Siliguri : 4th Jan : MP Darjeeling ,Raju Bista attended a meeting held by the Union Minister of Labour and Employment ,Mansukh Mandaviya , in Siliguri, Darjeeling district with the Tea Industry and Cinchona garden stakeholders. The discussions highlighted the urgent need for taking appropriate steps to revive and revitalise the Tea Industry and the Cinchona Gardens, and protect the rights of the workers.
‘For decades, workers in this historic tea belt, which is India’s first industrial region in the mountains, have suffered under outdated, colonial-era labour practices. TMC government has denied them dignified wages, Parja Patta right to their ancestral land, and deprived them of basic facilities. Thousands of our brothers and sisters working in the tea industry are today suffering due to shut down gardens, wages not paid on time, denial of their pension and statutory benefits,’ according to MP Raju Bista..
The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ,has implemented four New Labour Codes aimed to transform the lives of tea and cinchona workers in the Darjeeling hills, Terai, and Dooars.
The Code on Wages will directly address this injustice by ensuring fair dignified wages and timely payment, equal wages for men and women, and reducing excessive in-kind deductions.
Minister Mandaviya, stated that the New Codes will ensure that no worker is paid below the National floor wage, and even the WB Government will have to mandatorily implement it as well.
The Code on Social Security expands access to provident fund, health insurance, ESIC benefits, maternity benefits, pensions, and accident coverage to the workers.
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code will significantly improve living and working environments in gardens, and the Industrial Relations Code will promote transparent, balanced relations between workers and management.
Further, following request from the workers, the Minister has assured that a Labour Court will be initiated in Darjeeling at the earliest.
MP has extended gratitude,also on behalf of the workers, to the Minister for his time, for meeting the workers , their representatives and listening to their concerns first hand.
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