Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha urges state government to pay 20 percent bonus to ATCL workers

The Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) has urged the state government to pay a 20 percent bonus to the workers of the Assam Tea Company Ltd (ATCL) gardens.

However, the Assam government has already asked the tea management to pay bonuses to their workers and the process is going on.

''Almost all the workers in the tea gardens have got their bonus except ATCL workers. In this regard, the state government has written a letter to the tea association asking to pay the bonus to all workers before Durga Puja,'' ACMS general secretary Rupesh Gowala told India Today NE on September 23.

''Around half of the gardens have paid 20 percent bonus, while the remaining half of the gardens have also agreed to pay 20 percent bonus,'' Gowala added.

He further said that some of the gardens want to pay the bonus in two installments.

Around 15,000 workers worked for ATCL in 15 gardens of ATCL and recently the government decided to lease out 12 out of the 15 gardens by floating tenders.

Meanwhile, the government has not yet completed the process of leasing any ATCL gardens due to which it will have to pay this year's bonus to the workers.