Nepalese tea garden workers went on strike as their employers did not want to raise their wage. Nearly 25000 workers in the Eastern district of Ilam and Jhapa went on strike. This strike is a result of a series of protests started by the All Nepal Tea Estate Workers’ earlier in August.
The main demand of the workers was to raise their wages from Rs. 3,300 to Rs. 5000. At present, the government fixed wage is Rs. 3000. The workers also demanded that they should be paid for three weeks in April, when the tea gardens all around the country are shutdown.
About thirty two tea gardens and thirty seven processing centers will be affected by this strike. In Jhapa, 5000,000 kg of tea leaves will be wasted daily due to this strike. Goodricke tea, one of the leading tea companies of India, has a joint venture in Nepal. The company officials are afraid that they would be hit by this strike. However, no such news has been heard yet.
One of the main goals of the newly formed government of Nepal is eradication of poverty. I think government should try to find out some kind of solution for these poor tea garden workers so that they do not suffer for low wage. The government should also make the tea companies pay their workers during the shut down of the garden.
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