Online bonus to clamp tea workers' protests : Union leaders of the BGPM and TMC stayed away from the rally

 The management’s move seems to have taken the wind out of the sail of the union’s movement demanding a 20 per cent bonus

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 03.10.24 : The management of the Darjeeling Tea industry outsmarted the unions by crediting the bonus amount online to workers ahead of a protest rally in the hills on Wednesday.

The management’s move seems to have taken the wind out of the sail of the union’s movement demanding a 20 per cent bonus.

On Tuesday, the state government issued an advisory to the management to pay bonuses to the Darjeeling tea workers at the rate of 16 per cent.

“We found out that the management started crediting the bonus at the rate of 16 per cent since last evening. How could the management do this unless they had prior information about the advisory rate,” said former CPM Rajya Sabha member and Citu leader Saman Pathak.

Eight hill unions had launched a joint movement against the low rates of bonuses. Following the advisory, the unions had given a call for a mass rally in Darjeeling and demonstrations in tea gardens to purportedly stop the management from “calculating and disbursing the 16 per cent bonus.” The rally was taken out in Darjeeling.

In another twist, leaders of the two major unions affiliated to the ruling Bharaitya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) and Trinamool Congress stayed away from the rally.

“In the absence of leaders from the two parties, we could not finalise our future course of action. Our only decision as of today is to organise gate meetings at the garden and stop dispatch of tea for a day tomorrow (Thursday),” said Suraj Subba, a leader of the trade union affiliated to Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Union leaders are hopeful that they can hold another round of meeting on Thursday even though some admitted in private that it would be difficult to take forward the agitation with the same intensity as done in the past couple of weeks in the present circumstances.

“As of now both the BGPM and TMC trade union leaders have not said that they are out of the movement,” Pathak said sounding hopeful.

Union leaders cutting across party lines admitted that they cannot ask the workers to refund the 16 per cent bonus which comes to around ₹10,000 if the workers have not missed many days of work.

The percentage is calculated on a worker’s annual earning.

The BGPM issued a statement early Wednesday morning informing that their trade union president J.B. Tamang was hospitalised on Tuesday night because of highblood pressure.

The union’s general secretary, Bharat Thakuri, said that he had to attend a family wedding but insisted that their supporters and other leaders had attended the Darjeeling rally.

TMC leader N.B. Khawash, who had been attending the bonus meetings, kept his mobile phone switched off throughout the day on Wednesday.