The Supreme Court has summoned Chief Secretary of Assam to appear before Court on November 14, 2024, to explain, why no action has taken to pay the overdue wages of tea garden workers in the state?
A bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed disappointment over the unpaid wages of tea garden workers, criticizing both the Assam government and the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL).
Justice Oka stated, “We direct the Chief Secretary of State of Assam to personally remain present in the Court on the next date, i.e., 14th November 2024. The state will have to seriously answer the question, why there is no sincere effort made to pay the dues of the workmen who have worked in tea estates owned by the state of Assam,”.
Justice Oka Further stated that, “We will tell you, we agree with your criticism that it is harsh. We are dealing with dues of poor workmen. Unless we pass harsh orders, they will not get the money. We accept your fair criticism that we are harsh.” He responded to Assam’s lawyer, who called the court’s order harsh.
The order has come over a contempt petition that has been ongoing since 2012, about unpaid salaries and allowances of tea garden workers employed by the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL).
During the proceedings, Justice Oka noted that ATCL earned Rs 38 crores from rentals, yet the workers were still unpaid. The Court asked if any of the remaining Rs. 4 crores would be used to pay the workers’ overdue wages. Justice Oka emphasized that ATCL, as part of the state, is responsible for ensuring workers receive their wages and benefits.
The Assam government’s lawyer explained that due to heavy financial losses, some tea estate lessees couldn’t make a profit and returned the gardens to ATCL, worsening the financial situation. Justice Oka suggested that if the state couldn’t manage the tea estates well, selling them might be necessary to pay the workers. The lawyer responded that rules prevent using tea garden lands for anything other than tea cultivation.
The Supreme Court repeated it’s order for Assam’s Chief Secretary to appear in person on November 14, 2024, to explain why no real efforts have made to pay the outstanding wages.
The Court also sent a notice to the Union Ministry of Commerce after Assam’s lawyer mentioned that the central government has a role in making sure the workers get paid.
“See, unless we pass harsh orders, money will not come. So therefore. There are 2 governments before us and one agency and instrumentality of the state government. We will see how one of them pays”, Justice Oka remarked.
In a previous ruling in 2023, the Supreme Court ordered both the state and central governments to distribute Rs. 645 crores to 28,556 workers from 25 tea gardens, 15 of which run by the state-owned ATCL.
This issue dates back to 2006 when the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers filed a petition for unpaid wages and benefits. Although the Supreme Court ordered payment in 2010, the process had not fully completed, leading to the current contempt petition filed in 2012.
In 2020, the Supreme Court set up a one-person committee led by retired Justice AM Sapre to calculate the workers’ unpaid wages. The committee found that Rs. 414.73 crores owed to the workers, plus an additional Rs. 230.69 crores owed to the Provident Fund Department.
