Darjeeling tea embargo lifted after wage deal
The Darjeeling Tea Association has signed a deal with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and other unions to end an embargo on tea from the region. Under the three-year deal, tea garden workers will receive a 30% wage hike. This increase is the highest one in the history of the Darjeeling tea industry. The daily salary will be $2 from now on, although unions' initial demand was closer to $3 per day. This deal covers 62 out of 85 gardens in Darjeeling and experts expect the remaining ones to hammer out a deal shortly, as a situation where different wages are paid to workers in the same region is unlikely. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha union had set up an embargo on first flush Darjeeling tea export in the beginning of March.