12-hour strike call by tea garden workers brings life to standstill in Darjeeling hills, tourists suffer

Strike supporters at Ambiok Tea Estate at Lava Damdim Road : Photo Courtesy : Souraj Butang Rai

EOI, DARJEELING, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024: Life was thrown out of gear in the hills of Darjeeling on Monday in response to a 12-hour strike called by the Parwatiya Shramik Sangathan Samavaya Manch, comprising eight trade unions and supported by others, to demand a 20 percent puja bonus for the tea garden workers of the hills. The Kalimpong district was, however, an exception. 

The 12-hour token strike was called by the PSSSM and the workers late on Sunday night, when the fourth round of negotiations on the bonus issue failed to arrive at a conclusion. In Sonada, 3rd Mile, and in the Darjeeling and Kurseong towns, bandh enforcers stopped vehicles carrying tourists to Siliguri and had heated exchanges with some transport associations. 

Some tourists who had to reach New Jalpaiguri railway station and Bagdogra airport took the help of ambulances and hospital slips to pass through but were stopped by the picketers and forced back to their respective hotels. The management proposed a 13 percent bonus, which the trade unions refused to accept, sticking to the demand for a 20 percent bonus. 

The bandh has been supported by all the political parties of the hills, including the ruling and the opposition parties. Apart from the trade unions affiliated with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Hamro Party, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, Gorkha National Liberation Front, the trade unions owing allegiance to the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) and the Trinamool Congress took to the streets to enforce the bandh. 

The Trinamool and BGPM have had an anti-strike policy since 2017 and have never supported strikes called by other political parties or associations for different reasons. "From Tuesday, we will stage dharna in front of the garden factories across the 87 tea gardens, demanding a 20 percent bonus. We will report for duty but will not work. We know our agitation has caused inconvenience, and we apologize. But our hands are tied. We thank the people for extending their support for the cause of the workers," said J.B. Tamang, a union leader affiliated with the BGPM, while announcing the end of the 12-hour strike. 

During the strike, shops remained closed all over the hills. Only emergency vehicles were allowed to ply. This time around, state-run North Bengal State Transport Corporation buses did not operate, which is a sharp difference compared to other strikes in recent times. 

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway refrained from running the toy trains, canceling all prior bookings. Schools declared an off day, with students returning home in the morning. 

The government offices, however, remained open with fewer staff present than on other days due to the non-availability of vehicles for those who had to come from far-off areas to attend. Road blockades and picketing were seen in different places like Kurseong, Darjeeling, Sonada, Tung, among other places, where supporters of all the political outfits that had supported the strike were seen present. 

Roads adjacent to tea gardens like Tukdah, Rohini, Gorubathan, and other such places saw tea garden workers themselves coming out in the streets and blocking the respective roads.

CPRM trade union leader Sunil Rai said: “We had declared this 12-hour strike for the entire hills, but we did not get a positive response in Kalimpong. The reason behind it could be that it is not a tea garden belt, but the people of Kalimpong should also understand that if the tea garden workers do not get a proper bonus, there will be no customers in the town area as they will not have funds to buy things.” 

Trinamool leader N.B. Khawas said: “We are of the opinion that even if through negotiations or the Labor department issues an advisory, the decision should be in favor of the tea garden workers."