GNLF tea union seeks 20 percent "Puja Bonus'

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, 9 August, DARJEELING: The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) trade union, the Himalayan Plantation Workers' Union (HPWU), has decided to mount pressure on planters to pay puja bonus of not less than 20 percent. The union plans to serve memorandums with the demand in various tea gardens on 13 August.

The HPWU decision follows the 15 percent puja bonus that was given to tea workers in gardens in the hills last year. with the management then citing 70 percent loss in production because of the 104-day shutdown in the Hills in 2017.

The management had then earlier offered a mere 8.33 percent puja bonus, which they later increased to 15 after protests.

On the sidelines of agate meeting at the Avangrove tea garden (Mallat Tea garden) under the Sukhia Pokhari Block today, HPWU working committee general secretary SK Lama said, "Last year, the tea garden workers were deceived regarding the bonus, with them only being given 15 percent, which we had accepted under protest. This time, we will not agree to anything less than 20 percent, and also demand that bonus negotiations should not be held in Kolkata like last time. We want such negotiations to start as soon as possible, either on the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) premises or any other place here."

The DTA is the association of tea gardens which has a maximum number of members among the 87 tea gardens in the Hills. The other gardens are members of the Indian Tea Association.

"For the puja bonus demand, garden workers in the Hills, Terai and Dooars will submit memorandum to tea garden managements on the 13th of this month," said Mr Lama.

HPWU working committee joint secretary, Dhiraj Rai, said they would hold protest programmes if their demand regarding the bonus, especially for negotiations to take place in Darjeeling is ignored.

"Today's gate meeting was done through the Joint Forum to make tea garden workers aware of things like minimum wages, bonus and the other facilities that they should get." Mr Rai said.

The joint Forum is a conglomeration of different trade unions in the Hills that have been holding various programmes for demands like minimum wages and land rights.

Mr Rai maintained that on 13 august, they will also submit a memorandum to the District Magistrate, the Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) and the DTA regarding closed tea gardens and the bonus.