Meagre Wages and Flawed Implementation: CAG's Stark Findings on Assam's Tea Workers

A recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report highlights the meagre wages and flawed implementation of labour laws for tea garden workers in Assam. The audit revealed that state interventions have been insufficient, with basic socio-economic data missing, and significant wage disparities between Barak and Brahmaputra Valley workers.

A recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed serious shortcomings in the implementation of labour laws and worker welfare provisions for tea garden workers in Assam, who earn meagre wages. The audit, covering 2015-16 to 2020-21, highlights the state government's insufficient intervention in fixing wages as per the Minimum Wage Act (MW Act).

The performance audit showed that efforts to uplift the workers' lives have largely missed the mark. It pointed out barriers like low income and lack of education, hampering overall development. The audit was limited to four zones—Cachar, Dibrugarh, Nagaon, and Sonitpur—where 40 out of 390 tea estates were scrutinized and 590 worker interviews were conducted.

The Tea Tribes Welfare Department's initiatives were criticized as haphazard due to the absence of basic socio-economic data. Notably, the report mentioned wage disparities between workers in Barak and Brahmaputra Valley, with the former receiving at least 10% less, and the government failing to justify or address this discrepancy.

(With inputs from agencies.)