GUWAHATI: Small tea garden owners in Assam has expressed dissatisfaction over the hike in worker’s wage.

Small tea garden owners in Assam have expressed dissatisfaction over the state government’s ‘unilateral’ decision to increase the daily wage of workers.

The Assam government recently announced the decision to raise the daily wage of tea garden workers – be they working in big and small tea gardens – to Rs 232.

The Assam labour department recently via a notification announced the decision to hike the daily wage of tea garden workers by Rs 27.

The new daily wage of tea garden workers came into effect from August 1.

While the daily wage of a tea garden workers in Brahmaputra Valley has been hiked to Rs 232, in Barak Valley it has been raised to Rs 210.

The Assam government also decided to bring the small tea gardens at par with the big tea gardens in the state.

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Thus, making them pay the same daily cash wage.

However, the All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association (AASTGA) has expressed dissatisfaction over the state government’s decision.

They said that bringing the small tea gardens at par with the big tea gardens is an injustice.

“We were not consulting us by the Assam government before the decision was taken. It is impossible for small tea gardens to pay the new daily wages to the workers,” AASTGA president Rajen Bora said.