Tea garden workers in N Bengal left in the lurch

Pramod Giri, HT, 26 Nov 2016, SILIGURI: Five lakh tea garden workers in North Bengal are getting increasingly restless after the Reserve Bank of India made stringent rules for planters to withdraw money to disburse wages.

Wage payment has stopped since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8.

Most workers are going without any wages in the 283 tea gardens in North Bengal. A worker gets Rs 132.50 per day.

The Trinamool Congress has been quick to capitalise on the workers’ plight and has decided to mobilise them to fire a salvo at the Modi government at the Centre. Goutam Deb, the state tourism minister, who held a meeting on Friday with different trade unions affiliated to the TMC, said, “The workers will demonstrate for one-hour daily in front of tea gardens and central government offices from November 28 and will take out a rally and gherao tea board office in Kolkata on December 2.”

The recent circular of the RBI overruling the earlier arrangement of disbursing wages has made the situation complicated.

PK Bhattacharya, secretary general of the Tea Association of India, said, “The condition in tea gardens is uncertain and we are apprehensive of a serious law and order problem. How long do the workers need to wait to get their wages?” Bhattacharya said adding that the banks are interpreting the RBI circular in their own way. 

On Friday, workers of Soongachi tea garden in Dooars blocked National Highway 31 at Malbazar for four hours, demanding immediate payment of wages. Similarly, workers of many tea gardens have been blocking roads and trains for the last couple of days. Initially, after the demonetisation, an arrangement was made for the planters to deposit cheques or transfer the money required for the payment of wages in the bank accounts of the concerned district magistrates. The district magistrates then will allow the planters to withdraw the requisite money to make the wage payments.

The new circular says that maximum payment will be limited to a certain amount. Tea gardens will have to ensure opening of bank accounts by their workers.

Both the planters and Deb said, “The guidelines are absurd and devoid of practicality.”

“If this is followed, more than 50% workers would go without wages,” said a planter.