Darjeeling Municipality staff warns of protests over wages

Amitava Banerjee, MP, August 12, 2026, Darjeeling : The Darjeeling Municipality Employees Association (DMEA) has issued a deadline to the civic authorities to initiate action on a four-point charter of demands, warning that failure to respond satisfactorily by August 14 will trigger “Pen Down” and “Tools Down” agitations from next week.

In a memorandum addressed to the Chairman of the Darjeeling Municipality, the employees’ association demanded immediate intervention on issues concerning daily-wage workers, regular employees and long-pending service matters.

“We had earlier apprised the authorities of our problems and had urged them to resolve the issues by Durga Puja. However, as our pleas have fallen on deaf ears, we have issued a deadline. The municipality, including board members, should immediately convene an urgent meeting by August 14 to fulfil our demands. If they fail to do so, we will be compelled to launch an agitation,” stated Dipika Gurung, General Secretary, DMEA.

The first demand relates to enhancement of wages of all employees. The association has sought an increase in the monthly wage from the existing level to at least `15,000 at the minimum, citing the prolonged period of service rendered by the workers and the prevailing cost of living.

The employees have also demanded the immediate allocation and implementation of the Integrated Online Salary Management System (i-OSMS) for regular employees working in different departments of the municipality.

The prolonged delay in introducing the system has affected salary processing, attendance monitoring, employee records and administrative efficiency.

Another major demand concerns approval of employees’ service and the long-pending post-facto approval of appointments and promotions dating back to 2006.

A large number of employees appointed and promoted during that period are yet to receive post-facto approval, allegedly depriving them of service benefits including promotions, annual increments, confirmation, pension, gratuity, leave encashment and other retirement benefits.

“If no satisfactory action is initiated and communicated to the Union within the stipulated period, we will start a “Pen Down” from August 17 morning for 3 days, followed by “Tools Down” after that. This would be followed by a hunger strike by the employees. We request the public to cooperate with us” stated Gurung.

There are 366 daily wagers and 206 permanent employees at the Darjeeling Municipality.