Bonus talks for hill tea gardens end in stalemate

EOI CORRESPONDENT, DARJEELING, SEPTEMBER 15 21 : The first round of talks to settle the bonus for tea garden workers ended in a stalemate on Wednesday, with the tea garden management and trade unions differing on the rate and mode of payment. Bonus for the tea garden workers is negotiated before the Durga puja after rounds of meeting. 

On Wednesday, the garden management and the various trade unions of the hills conducted a virtual meeting, adhering to the Covid-19 protocol, lasting over four hours, without any result. General secretary of the Hill Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union (HTDPLU) Bharat Thakuri, said the management could not spell out the bonus rate or the mode of payment. 

"We placed our demands which the management did not accept. The management also did not disclose the rate they wanted to offer and how the bonus would be distributed," he said. 

HTDPLU is affiliated to the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), The trade unions have demanded 20 percent bonus to be paid in one instalment before the Dasai (Durga puja) festival. 

After the 2017 statehood agitation and 104 days’ strike, tea garden owners had been giving 20 percent bonus but in instalments. In 2019 the bonus was given in two instalments. The first instalment was 12 percent and the second eight percent. 

However, in 2020, the bonus was given in 15 to 5 ratio in two instalments. The worker's wage has been raised from Rs.176.50 to Rs.202. General secretary of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union (DTDPLU) Milan Pradhan was adamant that the bonus be given in one go. 

"In many gardens, workers are yet to receive their second instalment of the precious year. Therefore, we demand workers be given 20 percent bonus and in one instalment," he said. 

DTDPLU owes allegiance to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Interestingly, the bonus in the tea gardens of Terai and Dooars regions have already been fixed at 20 percent after the first round of meeting. 

The management representatives of the virtual meeting could not be reached for their version of the day’s meet. The 87 tea gardens in the hills employ over 55000 workers.