GTA pushes for wage hike for cinchona plantation workers

Darjeeling: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Chief Executive Anit Thapa, along with representatives of the Cinchona Plantation Labour Union, met West Bengal Labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Tuesday, pressing for an urgent revision of the wages of workers employed under the Directorate of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants (DCOMP).

In two separate memorandums submitted during the meeting, the GTA highlighted that more than 5,350 workers under the Directorate have not seen any revision in their basic wages for the past 13 years. Their salaries remain divided into two components—Basic Wages and Dearness Allowance (DA)—with the last basic wage revision dating back to 2012. “The current daily wage of Rs 320 is grossly inadequate given the steep rise in living costs and inflation,” Thapa stated in his letter to the minister. He stressed that repeated appeals had been made since 2017, but no effective action had been taken by the state government, leaving workers and their families under severe financial strain.

The Cinchona Plantation Labour Union echoed this demand, pointing out that despite periodic DA adjustments, the basic wage has remained stagnant since 2010. The union emphasised that workers are unable to meet their minimum household expenses in the face of mounting inflation in food, health and consumer goods.

Both GTA and the union urged the Labour department to immediately revise the basic wages and ensure regular DA adjustments, so that the workforce is “fairly compensated for their dedicated service.”

Minister Ghatak assured the delegation that the matter will be taken up seriously and steps initiated towards a resolution.