Tea workers to get higher wages

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Tea Producers Association and tea workers’ trade unions have reached an agreement to increase the wages of tea laborers.

According to Santa Kumar Rai, president of the Nepal Tea and Coffee Workers’ Union, the decision was made after the ninth round of negotiations between representatives of employers and workers.

The agreement was signed on Monday at the Bhadrpur office of the Nepal Tea Producers Association. On behalf of the association, JP Sharma, coordinator of the negotiating committee, signed the deal, while union leaders Santa Kumar Rai, Sita Sapkota of the All Nepal Tea Workers’ Union, and Deepak Tamang of the Nepal Tea Garden Workers’ Union signed on behalf of the workers.

Under the new agreement, tea workers will receive a minimum daily wage of Rs 565 and a minimum monthly wage of Rs 15,699.

This follows the previous arrangement to increase wages every two years. Prior to this, workers earned Rs 500 daily and Rs 13,893 monthly.

The wage increase includes Rs 39 added to the basic daily wage and Rs 26 to the cost-of-living allowance. For monthly wages, the basic pay rises by Rs 1,162 and the allowance by Rs 644.

The agreement will be recommended to the Minimum Wage Fixation Committee under the Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security, which will formalize the increase in the Nepal Gazette.

The new wages are set to take effect from 1 Shrawan 2082 BS.

The negotiations began after tea worker unions launched a protest on 18 Shrawan demanding higher wages.

The agreement now settles wage disputes for the next two years.

The district, which has the highest number of tea gardens in Nepal, employs both permanent and seasonal laborers.

The agreement also includes provisions to enroll regular workers in the Social Security Fund by the end of Ashoj.