This page shows the current applicable minimum wage for workers in Tea and Coffee Plantations in Jammu and Kashmir. If you employ or work on a tea or coffee estate in Jammu and Kashmir, use the rate table below to check the correct wage by skill category and, where notified, by zone.
Minimum wage rates for Tea and Coffee Plantations in Jammu and Kashmir
| Category of worker | Per day | Per month (26 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹311 | ₹8,086 |
| Semi-skilled | ₹400 | ₹10,400 |
| Skilled | ₹483 | ₹12,558 |
| Highly-skilled | ₹552 | ₹14,352 |
| Administrative / ministerial / accounts | ₹449 | ₹11,674 |
Rates effective 17 October 2022.
What counts as Tea and Coffee Plantations
Tea and Coffee Plantations is a scheduled employment covering the cultivation, upkeep, and primary on-estate processing of tea and coffee. It includes field operations such as land preparation, planting, plucking of tea leaf and picking of coffee berries, pruning, shade management, weeding, and spraying, along with in-estate manufacturing like withering, rolling, curing, drying, and grading.
- Tea gardens and estates
- Coffee estates and plantations
- On-estate tea manufacturing factories
- Coffee curing works and pulping or wet-processing units
- Estate nurseries raising tea and coffee saplings
- Grading, sorting, and packing sheds
- Estate stores, weighment sheds, and labour welfare lines
Typical roles and skill categories
- Tea plucker or leaf picker
- Coffee picker or berry harvester
- Field worker for weeding, hoeing, and manuring
- Pruner and shade-tree worker
- Sprayer or plant-protection worker
- Nursery worker
- Withering, rolling, and CTC or roller machine operator
- Curing, drying, and grading hand
- Field supervisor, maistry, or sardar and weighment clerk
In this employment, unskilled rates usually cover pluckers, pickers, and general field labour doing weeding, manuring, and estate cleaning, while semi-skilled rates cover pruners, sprayers, nursery workers, and factory attendants at withering and rolling. Skilled rates typically map to CTC or roller machine operators, curing and drying hands, and grading staff, and highly-skilled rates apply to estate tea makers, curing masters, quality graders or tasters, and plantation machinery mechanics.
Who fixes this wage
Tea and Coffee Plantations is a notified scheduled employment for which the Jammu and Kashmir government fixes minimum wages by skill category, unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly-skilled, and often by geographical zone or area. Employers running plantations and estates in Jammu and Kashmir must pay at least the applicable notified rate to every covered worker.
How Jammu and Kashmir sets minimum wages
Jammu and Kashmir operates one statewide schedule without zonal divisions, setting rates for five categories of worker as both a daily amount and a monthly amount on a 26-day basis. Unlike states on a half-yearly cycle, its rates have stood since taking effect on 17 October 2022 and are not adjusted through a variable dearness allowance. Any change here comes through a fresh notification rather than automatic indexation.
Common questions
What is the current minimum wage for Tea and Coffee Plantations in Jammu and Kashmir?
In Jammu and Kashmir, the minimum wage for Tea and Coffee Plantations currently runs from about ₹311 to ₹552 per day and ₹8086 to ₹14352 per month, depending on skill category and zone, effective 17 October 2022. The exact figure by category is in the table below. Confirm the exact rate for your worker's skill category and zone in the table above, and against the latest official notification.
Do the notified minimum wages in Jammu and Kashmir cover seasonal pluckers and pickers hired only during the flush or harvest?
Yes. Seasonal, temporary, and daily-rated plantation workers engaged during the plucking flush or coffee picking season are covered by the scheduled employment, and they must be paid at least the applicable minimum rate for their skill category in Jammu and Kashmir, the same as regular estate hands.
We pay pluckers on a per-kilogram or task basis. Can piece-rate output fall below the minimum wage?
No. Where plucking or picking is paid by results, the total earning for a normal working day must not be less than the minimum wage notified for that category in Jammu and Kashmir. If the piece-rate earning falls short, the employer has to make up the difference to the notified daily minimum.
Are estate factory workers such as withering, curing, and grading staff covered under this Tea and Coffee Plantations schedule?
On-estate primary processing that is part of the plantation, including withering, rolling, curing, drying, and grading, is generally treated within this scheduled employment in Jammu and Kashmir. Because scope and category mapping can vary, confirm against the current Jammu and Kashmir notification and the rate table shown on this page before fixing wages.
Never underpay in Jammu and Kashmir
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