Hill tea garden workers to beef up agitation from Wednesday

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 2 Oct 2024, Darjeeling: Darjeeling: The Parvatya Shramik Sanghatan Sammanaya Mach (PSSSM- a conglomeration of 8 operating tea garden workers unions of the Darjeeling Hills) has given a call for beefed up agitation from Wednesday. 

Along with the ongoing cease work by workers in tea gardens, a mammoth workers rally, in a show of strength, will take to the street in Darjeeling on Wednesday demanding a 20 per cent bonus. Future agitation plans will also be announced on Wednesday from Darjeeling. 

The renewed agitation comes in the wake of the tripartite talk held at Shramik Bhawan, Siliguri on Tuesday failing to come to a conclusion with a government advisory of 16 per cent bonus and the trade unions keeping up the demand of 20 per cent bonus. Finally, the trade union representatives staged a walkout from the meeting. 

The government advisory states that, with the stalemate not being resolved even after 5 rounds of meeting, bonus at 16 per cent be disbursed in the Hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong before October 4, for the accounting year 2023-2024. 

Incidentally, the bonus for tea gardens of Terai and Dooars was also settled at 16 per cent. “We expected the government advisory of a 20 per cent bonus standing with the demand of the worker. The advisory was of 16 per cent bonus. 

This will be a major deterrent to the tea industry because it is the workers who have to run the industry. As soon as the Labour officer declared the 16 per cent advisory, the trade union representatives staged a walkout shouting slogans. 

The entire Hill community is in support of the 20 per cent bonus and bonus directly or indirectly impacts every business in the Hills. 

All the trade unions stand united and will jointly shake the management and the government. The tea industry is 60 per cent worker intensive and we can collectively bargain on this. If the workers stop plucking tea what will the management do? We will not allow any single trade union to compromise,” stated Saman Pathak, trade union leader. 

JB Tamang, a trade union leader, announced plans for a rally in Darjeeling on Wednesday, demanding a 20 per cent bonus for tea garden workers. 

He criticised the disparity between bonus percentages in the Darjeeling and Dooars Terai tea industries, highlighting the need for fair representation from the Labour department in negotiations.

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/hill-tea-garden-workers-to-beef-up-agitation-from-wednesday-581751