The fourth tripartite meet on revision and remuneration for tea garden workers held between tea garden owners, workers and tea plantation employees' unions today at the Uttarkanya in Phulbari area here, remained inconclusive.
Emerging from the meeting, Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC) president Dola Sen and senior Trinamool trade union leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay told reporters that the meeting was inconclusive and "all pending issues will be discussed again during the fifth tripartite meeting to be held on July 25".
"We will further discuss the issues raised by union representatives, tea garden owners and employees with state labour minister Moloy Ghatak and meet again," Chattopadhyay said.
Ghatak was also present in the meeting today.
The North Bengal Tea Plantation Employees Union, affiliated to the All India United Trade Union Centre(AIUTUC), has demanded a daily minimum wage of Rs 300 for a tea worker.
Nirmal Das, the district secretary of AIUTUC said "The three-year tripartite wage agreement for tea workers has ended on March 31. The poverty-stricken workers are deprived every time a settlement is reached as their wages are less than the wages given by the Minimum Wages Act."
"We have said the daily minimum wage of a tea garden worker should be Rs 300. Wage settlement will be meaningless if it is done without including the variable dearness allowance (VDA)," Das said.
