Supreme Court summons Assam Chief Secretary over unpaid tea garden workers' dues

The Supreme Court summoned Assam's Chief Secretary to provide an explanation on November 14, 2024, regarding the lack of efforts in paying the long-pending dues to tea garden workers in the state. 

This order comes in response to a contempt petition that has been ongoing since 2012, concerning the unpaid salaries and allowances of tea garden workers employed by the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL).

A bench led by Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed frustration over the government's inaction, noting that while ATCL earned Rs. 38 crores from rental income, the workers remained unpaid. 

“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 of 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.”

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Justice Oka highlighted that, as a state entity, ATCL has a responsibility to ensure workers are compensated. He also suggested that if the state could not effectively manage the tea estates, the properties should be sold to pay the workers' dues.

The Assam government's counsel argued that financial losses were exacerbated by lessees returning tea gardens to ATCL due to their unprofitability. The Court also issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Commerce, as the counsel for Assam noted that the central government shares responsibility in resolving the issue.

This situation traces back to a 2006 petition by the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers, which led to a 2010 Supreme Court directive for the disbursement of Rs. 645 crores in unpaid wages to 28,556 workers across 25 tea gardens, 15 of which are managed by ATCL. 

In 2020, a one-person committee headed by retired Justice A.M. Sapre calculated the total dues owed to be Rs. 414.73 crores, with an additional Rs. 230.69 crores owed to the Provident Fund Department. Despite these findings, full compliance with the Court's orders has not yet been achieved, leaving workers in a prolonged state of financial hardship.