Darjeeling tea garden bonus impasse resolved, Tamang breaks fast after 122 hours

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 11 October 2019 | Darjeeling: The Darjeeling tea garden bonus issue was resolved at 20 percent in two installments. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Binay Tamang broke the fast unto death after 122 hours.

A five-hour long meeting on Friday at the conference hall of the Labour department in Kolkata resolved to pay 20 percent bonus in two installments to the workers of the Hill tea gardens. The agreement inked stated: "They will pay 60 percent of the 20 percent bonus within 10 days and the date and installments of the other 40 percent of the 20 percent bonus will be settled in tripartite level by November 2019 in presence of the Hon'ble Minister in Charge, Labour Department, Government of West Bengal."

The unions agreed to restore normalcy in production and productivity with immediate effect. "The meeting started with the trade unions demanding 20 percent bonus and the management expressing their inability to pay more than 18.50 percent. The Labour Minister expressed the stand of the state government that the bonus in the Hills and the plains (Terai and Dooars) should be equal in principal. Considering the special situation in the Hills, the minister on behalf of the government urged the management to give 20 percent bonus," stated Sandeep Mukherjee, principal advisor, Darjeeling Tea Association.

However, owing to the crisis faced by the Hill tea gardens owing to the grave situation caused by the 104-day long bandh in 2017, it was resolved that bonus would be paid in installments this year.

"We are happy that our demand of 20 percent bonus has been met. The management stated that they were facing a massive fund crunch and would be paying the 20 percent in three installments. We did not agree to this. Finally we negotiated to two installments," stated Bharat Thakuri, general secretary of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union.

All the trade unions operating in the Hill gardens had jointly negotiated bonus this year. Multiple rounds of talks in Darjeeling and a tripartite talk had failed in Kolkata.

With news of the 20 percent bonus, at 4 pm, Tamang broke his fast after 122 hours. He had been sitting in a fast unto death since October 6 in demand of 20 percent bonus. An elderly tea garden worker lady offered him a glass of water.

He was immediately rushed to the Darjeeling Sadar Hospital.

"We have checked him thoroughly and conducted ECG, electrolyte tests and other vitals. He is suffering from gastrointestinal and renal problems. After stabilizing him we have referred him to a super-speciality hospital. Along with pain in the abdomen he is also suffering from Hematuria (blood in the urine)," stated Dr Pralay Acharya, CMOH, Darjeeling. Around 6pm, Tamang was taken off to Siliguri from the Darjeeling Sadar Hospital.