Strike called in Darjeeling Hills over tea workers' bonus issue

 Trade union leaders representing tea workers under the GTA remained firm on their demand for a 20 percent bonus.

SNS, 29 SEPTEMBER 2024, SILIGURI: The Tea Workers' Protection Committee (Chiya Shramik Suraksha Samiti) in Darjeeling has called for strike 12 hour bandh in the Hills on  Monday (edited: KN instead of indefinite bandh) after the tripartite meeting convened by the Labour Department ended inconclusively today over the demand for a 20 percent Puja bonus for workers in the 87 Hill tea gardens. Trade union leaders representing tea workers under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) remained firm on their demand for a 20 percent bonus. 

However, planters in the Hills, affiliated with the Darjeeling Tea Association and other groups, stated that they could not meet this demand. Labour Commissioner Jawaid Akhtar presided over the reconciliation meeting at Shramik Bhawan today. 

Sources indicated that the Labour Department might issue an advisory recommending that planters pay a 16 percent bonus for 2023-24. 

Saman Pathak, Darjeeling district CITU secretary and a leader of the FUR trade unions' coordination committee, said: "The tripartite meeting ended inconclusively once again. The Labour Commissioner himself informed us that the state government will make the final decision. We made it clear that the bonus rate should not be less than 20 percent. We are now waiting for the Labour Commissioner's message." He added:

"We will not support the bandh. After the Labour Department's decision, we will decide our next course of action in consultation with our constituents."

It is worth noting that on 19 September, the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA) announced a base rate of 16 percent bonus-cum-compensatory payment for workers in the Terai and Dooars regions for the accounting year 2023-24. 

Of the 176 gardens in these regions, 57 have been classified as sick, and management will pay less than the 16 percent bonus in these cases. 

In the Hills, sources said planters had initially agreed to pay a 13 percent bonus, but during today's meeting, they expressed their inability to exceed the 16 percent rate. Rojesh Thapa, spokesperson for the Chiya Shramik Suraksha Samiti, reiterated the demand for a 20 percent bonus in one instalment, not in phases. 

"We appeal to all business organizations, vehicle owners, drivers, NGOs, and other associations to support us. However, we have decided to exempt schools and the medical sector from the bandh," he said.

Hamro Party president Ajoy Edwards, who staged a dharna in Siliguri today in support of the tea workers, pledged to back any protest action they undertake. "We must agitate for our rights. A protest culture is necessary in the Hills, and we support any agitation the tea workers decide to pursue," Mr. Edwards stated. 

He further threatened to protest at luxury resorts in the tea gardens. "We won't protest at the tea factories for now. Instead, we will disrupt the high-end resorts where guests pay Rs 50,000 a night to sleep."

Meanwhile, GTA Chief Executive Anit Thapa wrote to the Labour Minister, expressing support for the tea workers' demand for a 20 percent bonus. Mr. Thapa also spoke with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her intervention in the matter. 

Sources indicated that the Chief Minister instructed the relevant department to resolve the issue. Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista has also appealed to the Chief Minister, requesting her intervention to settle the dispute.