TN tea planters worried over State’s move to revise minimum wages

Tamil Nadu Government’s proposal to revise the minimum amount wages for personnel in the plantation sector has brought on problems in the State tea sector.

The TN Governing administration has issued a draft notification dated July 30, proposing revision of minimum amount wages for work in plantations increasing tea, coffee, rubber and cinchona in the State.

As per the most up-to-date proposals, the staff would be entitled to a wage raise of ₹87 per working day for staff in tea estates, which is the predominant plantation crop in Tamil Nadu.

The impacted events are expected to post their objections or strategies to the proposals in the notification inside a period of two months from the date of gazette notification. Thereupon, the Governing administration shall concern the remaining notification by both modifying or confirming the proposals. The previous this sort of revision was in the yr 2017.

Lower price ranges

“What is stressing for the employers is that the steep raise in their wage legal responsibility has occur about in the context of slipping tea price ranges at the community auction centres. Growers of coffee and rubber in the State belong generally to the modest holder classification, who would locate it to be an uphill undertaking to shoulder the burden of an equivalent sudden wage hike. The wage and wage related expenditure in the cost of generation in plantations is in extra of sixty per cent,” explained Arun Kumar, Chairman, The Planters’ Affiliation of Tamil Nadu, in a assertion.

“Of certain issue to employers is that, out of the total wage of ₹425 per working day, the methodology adopted by the Governing administration in the notification for arriving at the Variable Dearness Allowance part is egregious. This has led to a 27 per cent raise in DA, as towards only a nine per cent raise in the previous notification of the yr 2017. This would outcome in an adverse result each individual quarter to quarter, when the DA would have to be revised, for the duration of the study course of the validity of the remaining notification,” Arun Kumar explained.

Additional, even with out this sort of a revision, the existing wage prices in Tamil Nadu are far better than the North-Eastern States, which are the dominant producers of tea in the place in phrases of quantity, Arun Kumar explained.

The employers in the plantation industry in Tamil Nadu are in the process of finalising their objections to the statutory draft notification. “We hope to convince and prevail upon the State Governing administration on the have to have for moderation in minimum amount wage fixation in Tamil Nadu to assure protection of work and the ongoing survival of the industry,” he included.

Tea generation in Tamil Nadu stood at 153.83 million kg (mkg) in 2020, accounting for about 12.two per cent of India’s tea output of one,257.53 mkg.

Long-term coverage required

N Lakshmanan Chettiar, Director, Golden Hills Estate Pvt Ltd, Coonoor, explained the proposed wage hike will upset the economics of the industry. “The Governing administration has completed the unilateral determination of mountaineering the wages and at the identical time they do not have a mechanism to increase up the auction levels,” Lakshmanan explained introducing that industry really should glance at a prolonged-term solution.

“We really should not be dependent on this migrant labour forever. We will have to be in tune with the recent trends which is taking place in the globe situation by automating the agri-functions, for which prolonged term funding is vital,” he included.