Dibrugarh, May 29: Talks between the Consultative Committee of Planters’ Associations (CCPA) and the Asom Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) remained inconclusive today on the demand for hiking daily labour wages of the tea gardens located in the Brahmaputra Valley. ACMS general secretary Madhusudhan Khandait, who has already demanded a 40 per cent hike in the daily labour wages, said here today that the three-hour-long meeting could not yield significant results. The members representing the CCPA strongly opposed the hike in any form.
The last three-year bilateral agreement between the CCPA and ACMS lapsed 14 months ago in March last year. “The earlier agreement had given the workers a hike of Rs 19.90 per day. Given the crisis, there should be a hike of at least Rs 15,” he said.
Till now, four rounds of talks between the representatives of the CCPA and the ACMS have been futile since both sides are sticking to their stands.
“Everyone has acknowledged the tea crisis. Added to this was the inclement weather, which had hit the industry hard this year. So we cannot offer anything to the workers. Otherwise, we will have to close shop,” said a senior planter here.
The CCPA also held discussions with the Asom Chah Karmachari Sangha (ACKS) today separately on the hike in certain allowances. The ACKS is the only recognised trade union representing the 15,000-odd employees of the valley.
“We had very cordial discussions with the members of the CCPA and we hope the new agreement would be finalised during our next meeting,” ACKS general secretary Girish Chandra Borpatra Gohain said.
With the ACMS hardening its stance on the proposed hike, industry sources here said this might once again cause a labour-management problem to flare up in the next few months.
The industry is in the grip of a recession caused by the sharp fall in tea prices in auctions and markets since 2001 and the ever-spiralling costs of production, nearly 60 per cent of which is constituted by employment-related costs.