Tea union of Hamro Party decides to walk out of joint forum over 20 per cent bonus issue

 The union leader, without naming anyone, alleged that despite united fight, union leaders were going after each other in different tea gardens

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 23.10.24 : Fissures have appeared in the joint movement by hill trade unions for a 20 per cent bonus with the tea union of the Hamro Party deciding to walk out of the joint forum.

Eight hill tea unions affiliated to the Hamro Party, the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM), the CPM, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), the Trinamool Congress, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and the BJP had come together during the bonus negotiations.

"We now feel that this coming together of unions is just a façade before the public and that parties are not working in unison,” said D.K. Gurung, the president of the Hamro Hill Terai Dooars Chai Bagan Shramik Sangh, which is affiliated to Ajoy Edwards headed Hamro Party.

The union has decided to walk out of the alliance. “We will chart our own course of action,” said Gurung.

The union leader, without naming anyone, alleged that despite the united fight, union leaders were going after each other in different tea gardens.

Recently, there was tension among leaders of various tea unions in Longview in Kurseong where workers are sitting on a relay hunger strike on the bonus issue.

Some leaders had also accused fellow party leaders of trying to settle the bonus at a rate much below 20 per cent.

Despite the union demanding a 20 per cent bonus, the state government issued an advisory to the tea gardens to pay bonus at the rate of 16 per cent which is on a par with the bonus rate of the Terai and the Dooars tea gardens.

However, with the hill unions sticking to their 20 per cent demand, the state government has again called another round of meetings in Calcutta on November 6.

"The development just before the meeting does not augur well for the joint movement,” said an observer.

Saman Pathak, the former Rajya Sabha MP and a CITU leader, stressed that this joint movement had emerged because of circumstances centring around the bonus.

"In such platforms, there can be political compulsions and political differences. However, they joined hands to strengthen the movement. Even if they choose to stay outside, we are hopeful that they will continue to support the workers movement,” said Pathak.

Many observers believed that the workers' decision to sit on a relay hunger strike at the Longview tea garden provided a platform for tea unions and also political parties to vie for one-upmanship.

The hunger strike, largely initiated by the apolitical trade union Hill Plantations Employees Union, entered its 15th day on Tuesday.

Various hill parties had recently written a letter to the state government to intervene in the Longview impasse.

The state government has decided to call a joint conference between the management and the union leaders on the Longview issue on Wednesday.

"We will participate in the meeting but our relay hunger strike will continue unless our demands are met,” said Chewang Yonzone, secretary, HPEU.

The Darjeeling tea industry comprises 87 tea gardens and around 70,00 workers.