Anit Thapa Warns Hill Tea Garden Unions to Walk Out if Bonus Offer Falls Below 20%

KalimNews, Darjeeling, August 7, 2025 :  Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) President Anit Thapa has issued a firm directive to his party’s trade union wing, instructing them to walk out of upcoming bonus negotiations with tea garden owners if they are offered anything less than a 20 percent bonus for the financial year 2024–2025.

The crucial bilateral meeting between tea garden managements and trade unions is scheduled to begin on Friday. Traditionally, these annual negotiations determine the bonus to be paid to tea workers before the festive season, but in the Darjeeling hills, the process has rarely been smooth.

“This time we will not budge from the 20 percent bonus,” Thapa declared on the eve of the talks. “I met my trade union leaders and told them not to accept even one percent less. If owners offer anything below 20 percent, they must walk out of the negotiation.”

Last year’s negotiations had been tense, with garden owners initially offering only the statutory minimum bonus of 8.33 percent and refusing to negotiate further. It was only after protests by workers, pressure from various trade unions, and an advisory from the West Bengal government that the managements agreed to settle at 16 percent.

Thapa, invoking the dedication of the workers, said, “Our brothers and sisters give their blood and sweat to the tea gardens all year round, yet every bonus season they are forced to agitate. Twenty percent is the rightful due of the workers, and owners cannot deny it.”

He emphasised that, over the years, bonus talks in the hills have often seen political leaders resorting to hunger strikes and unions launching agitation mid-negotiation, while managements have responded by offering lower bonuses or paying in instalments, much to the dismay of the workers.

“As a responsible political party, it is our duty to speak for the rights of the workers. If they are given what they deserve, they will, in turn, give their all to the gardens,” Thapa said. He also appealed to owners to “respect the contribution of the workers” and to ensure that this year’s negotiations remain peaceful.

“I am hopeful that the owners will amicably and happily give a 20 percent bonus this year. The bonus is not a favour — it is the workers’ right. Let there be no unrest or conflict during the talks,” he urged.

President of the BGPM-affiliated Hill Terai Dooars Plantation Workers Union, J. B. Tamang, confirmed that strict instructions had been issued by the party high command and that they would follow them without compromise. “We have passed the message to all our grassroots units. We will not come down from our 20 percent demand,” Tamang asserted.

Adding to the tension is the unresolved issue of the remaining 4 percent bonus from the 2023–2024 fiscal year, for which another meeting with the State Labour Department is scheduled later this month.

Speaking in Nepali at a party meeting, Thapa reiterated, “This year, no worker should get less than 20 percent as a bonus. The BGPM will never accept anything below 20 percent under any circumstances. Our trade union will not even participate in any discussion on a figure less than that. Tea workers shed their blood and sweat in the gardens daily; the 20 percent bonus is their right, and the gardens must grant it.”

He told union leaders that their role was to be the voice of workers’ rights, above politics: “It is the duty and responsibility of the trade union to stand for the workers’ rights. If we speak for them, they will work with full dedication.”

Appealing directly to tea garden owners, Thapa concluded, “Keep the happiness of the workers alive — the bonus is one thing that brings them joy. Let there be no conflict during the bonus season. I hope that in 2025, owners will, with a happy heart and gratitude for their workers, grant the full 20 percent bonus.”