Hopes for 20 pc in Kolkata bonus meet

MANAS R BANNERJEE, SNS, 10 OCTOBER 2019, Siliguri: Both planters and trade union leaders are all set to attend a tripartite meeting called by labour minister Moloy Ghatak in Kolkata tomorrow. However. both the groups harbor doubts on the fate of the meeting, even as Morcha leader Binoy Tamang is determined to continue with the fast-unto-death, which entered the fifth day today. demanding 2O percent bonus for tea workers in the Hills.

Notably, Mr Tamang has also demanded "one-time payment of the 20 percent bonus."

"I don't know what will be the justification of the meeting in Kolkata if Tamang continues his protest," said a senior planter in Darjeeling Hills.

"Looking at the present situation, garden owners will have no alternative, but to concede to the 20 percent bonus as demanded by all,including Binoy Tamang." said an official associated with tea plantations in the Dooars.

On the other hand, trade unions confirmed that they would attend the meeting. "We would attend the meeting, but we are in no position, considering the present sentiment of labourers in plantations as well as the people in the Hills, to accept anything below 20 percent. The situation has now prompted us to stand by our demand for bonus at the rate of 20 percent," said CITU leader Saman Pathak.

Notably, this is for the first time in the recent history of tea gardens in the Hills that thousands of tea workers had to spend their biggest festival of Dashain without the bonus being paid to them.

"We will attend the tripartite meeting tomorrow. We also attended the last meeting and agreed to pay bonus at the rate of 10.50 percent, and lastly decided to go up to 15 percent, but talks faltered as trade unions desperately demanded 20 percent," an owner of the plantations in Darjeeling, Ashok Lohia said.

"We will not comment on the matter because the bonus issue is being politicised right now," Mr Lohia added. "How can we forget the 104-day strike in the Hills in 2017 that has broken the spine of the Darjeeling tea industry? Accenting to the assessment of the Tea Research Association (TRA) Toklai and Tea Board of India, the estimated loss was Rs 183 crore approximately. We are trying hard to improve the situation of the Darjeeling tea industry," he said.

According to him, the situation in Darjeeling is different from that in the plains. "We should not compare any subject from quality to price of Darjeeling tea with the Terai and the Dooars, and even the rate of bonus of 18.50 percent, one percent less than the previous year," Mr Lohia said. He added that planters incurred more losses due to the ongoing agitation. "Had we not obtained the GI tag for Darjeeling tea, the industry would have vanished," he said.

Another planter in the Hills said that the 104-day strike had "eroded" the market of Darjeeing tea, and that Darjeeling lost buyers from Japan after the 104-day strike. "It is difficult for some gardens(including mine) to pay bonus due to the losses incurred due to the present agitation on the bonus issue," he said.

According to a senior planter in the Hills., a German buyer who came to India, was taken aback yesterday upon hearing about the situation of the tea industry and asked whether Mr Tamang had been "blackmailing the planters with support from the ruling party in the state."

Meanwhile, a section of planters in the region claimed that Mr Tamang had asked the state government to intervene after the bipartite talks failed. "We suspect that the state labour department called the second tripartite meeting, which was scheduled to be held on 17 October, on 11 October, just to save the face of Binoy Tamang and to pressure the Darjeeling tea planters," they said.

According to a trade union leader, Mr Tamang, who took the fast- unto - death decision politically after his party's decision, will not call off the agitation until and unless the bonus issue is settled. "The trade union of seven parties, which have united to demand 20 percent bonus, will not request him to call off the fast" he said.