Grant leave to pregnant tea workers: Assam minister

Guwahati: Women workers engaged in tea estates in Assam are made to work in tea gardens for plucking and gathering of tea leaves even while they are in advanced stage of pregnancy as tea companies don’t provide leave for child birth.

It has been disclosed by Assam’s health and finance minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma who has asked the tea companies operating in Assam to introduce a system of providing at least three months leave to women tea workers before child birth.

“It is appalling that women workers are made to work in Assam’s tea gardens till the day before child birth which is one of the key reasons behind high maternal mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate prevailing among tea workers in the state,” the minister said

He asked the tea company representatives in front of the Union Health Minister J P Nadda who was here to flag off mobile medical units for tea gardens, to provide three months leave to tea workers for safe child birth and said that the state government would provide Rs 2000 per month to the tea worker during the leave period to take care of themselves before child birth.

The minister castigated the tea companies for not complying with the request from the state government to provide one-two acres of land in tea gardens for setting up of a hospital, a high school and a community center and instructed the chief secretary to de-lease land leased out to the tea gardens to pave way for setting up these institutions for the welfare of tea workers.

“It is the government which leased out vast tracts of land to tea gardens for tea plantation and they are now not willing to even part with one or two acres of land to us to set up these institutions. It can’t be accepted. They have to fall in line and provide land to the government,” the minister said.