SILIGURI: Increasing absenteeism among workers is surfacing as a major problem in labour intensive tea industry. Tea industry top brasses find it as indirect outcome of few Government schemes like 100 days work.“The problem has reached a difficult height with absenteeism of around 25% in pan country level. Naturally, this absenteeism significantly increasing our production cost because of downfall of output,” said veteran planter P. K. Sharma.“Ironically, we cannot say ‘no’ to this welfare scheme under MGNREG Act. Many planters proposed Government to run 100 days work scheme in tea belts in winter season which is the lean period for tea plantation. This is also becoming yet another unmanageable hurdle for already stressed tea industry,” said a senior garden owner S. Seal.

Source: Economic Times March 09, 2018 14:15 UTC