In Demand of 20 Percent Bonus, Tea Garden Trade Unions Call for 12-Hour Strike in the Hills

KalimNews, September 29, 2024, Kalimpong: Following the failure of today’s meeting regarding the tea workers' bonus, all trade unions have jointly called for a 12-hour shutdown tomorrow. From 7 AM to 7 PM, educational institutions, government offices, shops, and vehicles will remain completely inactive, with exceptions for ambulances and emergency services like electricity and fire brigades.

Saman Pathak, a leader of the Parvatya Shramik Sangathan Samanwaya Manch (PSSSM), which encompasses all operating tea garden workers' unions in the Darjeeling Hills, emphasized that the meeting aimed to clarify the workers’ demand for a 20% bonus, in contrast to the management’s offer of only 13%. He noted that representatives from the management and trade unions met with the Labour Commissioner at Shramik Bhawan in Dagapur, Siliguri, where the government intervened with an advisory. However, the unions made it clear that they would only accept the advisory if it included a 20% bonus and that they are unwilling to compromise.

The meeting lasted approximately six hours, with three breaks in between. As part of the strike, tea workers plan to gather at their respective gardens and assemble in front of the factories for three consecutive days during working hours to demand the bonus, although they will not work. Drastic measures will be considered after the third day if their demands remain unmet.

“We are compelled to call for a 12-hour general strike tomorrow on behalf of all unions,” stated B.K. Rai, president of the Himalayan Plantation Workers Union. Other leaders echoed this sentiment, asserting that their demand for a 20% bonus is a matter of right, not charity. Suraj Subba, general secretary of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, stated, “The bonus we are asking for is our rightful demand. We will not accept anything less than 20%, and even if the government sends an advisory, we will not back down.”

Bhaktimaan Tamang, another union leader of the Hill Terai Dooars Plantation Workers Union, said, “Tomorrow, offices, schools, shops, and vehicles will all be closed. Tea workers will take to the streets tomorrow.”

This time, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha has supported the strike. Anit Thapa, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, stated, “I, along with the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, have always stood with the tea workers in their fight for rights and will continue to do so. I stand with them in their struggle.”