Morcha threatens to halt tea supply line

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT,  Siliguri: The trade union of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has threatened to stop dispatch of first flush tea from gardens in the hills if bonus dues are not paid immediately.

Last year, the bonus for hill tea estates was fixed at 19.75 per cent. Citing the setback the hill tea sector suffered because of the four- month long Gorkhaland agitation, most of the total 87 estates have paid only half of the bonus to workers so far.

" Tea estates are functioning normally across the hills now. We have made repeated requests to disburse the bonus dues but to no avail. That is why we have made it clear that if the outstanding bonus is not cleared immediately, we will stop the dispatch of the first flush tea from the gardens, " Karuna Gurung, the president of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, said on Wednesday.

The first flush tea production begins from March onwards.

The announcement by the Morcha union has posed a new challenge for hill tea estates, most of which are trying to get out of the critical financial situation.

Due to the strike, the gardens have lost production and revenue. Across the hills, the production in 2017 has gone down by over 65 per cent.

Gurung said representatives of her union would also meet officials of the district administration and Binay Tamang, the chairman of the board of administration of the GTA, seeking their intervention.

She said an agreement was signed at Uttarkanya ( the branch secretariat of the state here) on September 21 last year on the rate at which the annual bonus needed to be paid.

At a meeting at Uttarkanya on January 4, officials of state labour department had asked hill tea planters to clear the due bonus at the earliest. The planters said they needed some more time to wriggle out of the critical situation and arrange funds.

" We waited till January 31.

As the first phase of our movement, we submitted memorandum through our tea garden units to respective management.

Soon, we will meet Binay Tamang, administrative officials and representatives of the Darjeeling Tea Association, " said Gurung.

The Joint Forum, an apex body of over 20 tea trade unions, on Wednesday held a meeting and decided to hold demonstrations in the hill tea gardens to clear the outstanding bonus, sources said.