Tea unions’ strike likely after Pujas

SNS, Siliguri, 29 September: The Joint Forum of 22 trade unions associated with tea plantations is set to go on a two-day strike in November, demanding settlement of workers’ wages.

Leaders of the forum took a decision to this effect at Malbazar in the Dooars yesterday after the state failed to settle the basic wage structure even after five rounds of tripartite talks.

According to the leaders, trade unions will observe a strike in tea plantations in the Terai, the Dooars and Darjeeling Hills on 12 November and they will appeal to the general people to support the strike on 13 November. They also plan to hold a meeting on 8 and 9 October to review the situation and prepare for demonstrations in front of government offices, including those of the district magistrates, sub divisional officers, block development officers and police stations in the region on 13 October.

A forum leader, Saman Pathak, the former Rajya Sabha member, said: “There has not been a resolution to change the protest programmes if the state government announces a sixth round of tripartite talks.”

Joint labour commissioner Md Rizwan said he will be able to say something about the next tripartite meeting only after the Pujas.

Notably, state labour minister Malay Ghatak attended the two-day tripartite meeting at Uttarkanya in August and tried hard to settle the matter and requested planters’ apex body to increase at least Rs 40 from the present rate of wages, which is Rs 95 a day in the Terai and the Dooars.”

The daily wage of a tea worker in Darjeeling Hills is Rs 90.