West Bengal: Tea trade unions call for 3-day strike

Three-day strike in the tea industry, called by the joint forum of 26 tea trade unions over the implementation of minimum wages, entered its first day on Tuesday.

The strike will be observed in Terai and Dooars regions of Siliguri in West Bengal. The forum has also announced that during the strike, tea would not be dispatched from gardens.

Yesterday, several representatives of the Joint Forum met West Bengal Labour Commissioner Javed Akhtar ahead of the strike to resolve the matter but of no avail.

The tea trade unions have been demanding the implementation of minimum wages in the tea gardens since long.

Reportedly, to resolve the issues, a minimum wage advisory committee was also constituted by the government in 2015, in which numerous meetings were held too.

--ANI