Tea bonus meet on August 30

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 28 Aug 2019, Darjeeling: The Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) has called a bonus meeting on August 30 here.

The decision comes a day after the trade union of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay Tamang camp) had set a 72-hour deadline and threatened to start an agitation unless the date and venue of the meeting were fixed.

The Morcha (Binay camp) essentially wants the meeting to be held in Darjeeling and has demanded that bonus be disbursed at 20 per cent of the worker's total annual earnings.

Last year, the bonus meeting for the Darjeeling Tea industry was held in Calcutta and the settlement was less than 20 per cent. Both these decisions had invited criticism of the Binay camp.

Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal adviser to the DTA, however, denied the claims that the decision to hold the meeting in Darjeeling had anything to do with the Morcha's pressure. "There is no question of any pressure. As per industry norms, bonus has to be disbursed in two clear Sundays before the Bijaya Dashami," said Mukherjee, trying to indicate that the decision was a normal industrial procedural practice.

J.B. Tamang, working president of the Morcha's Binay camp trade union, the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, however, tried to take credit for the announcement of the bonus meeting date.

"We are happy that the industry captains have agreed to our demand," said Tamang.

Mukherjee however, tried to caution the union. "The unions must act responsibly. Law and order should be maintained in the garden and union leaders should refrain from instigating the general tea garden masses," said Mukherjee.

The Darjeeling Tea industry has 87 gardens. Last year, bonus was disbursed at the rate of 15 per cent