SILIGURI, West Bengal, India
Tea gardens in the Siliguri District of West Bengal are bracing for labor unrest recently experienced in Darjeeling and Assam. Workers complained that average wages are insufficient to support the daily needs of their families.
"The wages that we get right now are not proper and we are not able to fulfill our daily needs with those wages," Lal Krishna Toppo, a tea garden worker, told News Track India.
Aloke Chakraborty, Joint Secretary of the National Union of Plantation Workers demanded the state government set a minimum wage of Rs 165 ($3.65) a day.
Chakraborty said that if their demands are not fulfilled they will continue with the protest and if needed, they may go on strike.
"We are demanding hike in wages from a long time and these should be given counted from April 1 and if they won't fulfill our demands then we will continue with our protest and if needed, we will also go on strike," he added.
The region employs approximately 100,000 garden and production workers.
Source: News Track India