Will not implement new labour law of Centre in state: Bengal minister

Kolkata, Mar 11 (PTI) Stating that the new labour law introduced by the BJP-led central government was "befooling" workers, West Bengal Labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Tuesday told the Assembly that the state government would not comply with them.

Ghatak alleged that if the law was implemented, numerous workers would be deprived of social security like Provident Fund and benefits of the Employees' State Insurance (ESI).

The minister called on everyone to fight together against the new labour law of the Centre.

He claimed that the new labour rules of the central government state that if someone was earning more than Rs 15,000 per month, then he could no longer be called a worker.

Ghatak also briefed the Assembly about the various steps taken by the state government for the development of the working class. He said that the state government would continue raising the salary of the tea garden workers as long as the minimum wage approved by the Labour Board was implemented.

He alleged that the erstwhile Left government had never thought for the benefit of the tea garden workers.

The Trinamool Congress government, he claimed has adopted several steps for their welfare.

"Currently, tea workers in the state are getting a daily wage of Rs 250, which is higher than those working in the tea gardens in BJP-ruled Assam or Tripura," he said.

Besides, tea garden workers were getting 35 kg of rice free of cost, while those in Assam were getting 20 kg at a rate of Rs 9 per kg, Ghatak claimed in the absence of the Opposition BJP, as the saffron party staged a walkout in the first session of the proceedings.

Workers of closed tea gardens were getting financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month, the minister said, adding that the same was not available in other states.

Similarly, the daily wage of Jute mill workers has been raised from Rs 157 during the Left Front government to Rs 720 (CTC) with all the benefits.

Ruling party MLAs Nirmal Ghosh, Asit Majumdar, Sameer Jana, and Sukanta Pal spoke in support of this expenditure allocation. PTI SCH RG