West Bengal Government announces 16% bonus to Darjeeling tea garden workers

Directing that the bonus should be paid by October 4, the State Government urged representatives of management and trade unions to ensure “industrial peace, harmony and discipline in the tea gardens”. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A day after tea garden workers began strike in the Darjeeling hills, the West Bengal government on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) issued an advisory to the managements of tea gardens to award a bonus of 16% of the wages to the workers of the region. However, this announcement did not cut with the protesters, as the workers’ unions threatened to intensify their agitation after the fifth round of tea bonus talks for Darjeeling Gardens failed on Tuesday (October 1, 2024).

“That bonus to the tea garden workers is to be paid at 16% for tea gardens located at Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong Hills for the accounting year 2023-24,” the notification by the Government said.

The State Government added that considering the “unrest and confusion among the workers in tea gardens and in view of the ensuing festive season, the Labour Department, Government of West Bengal, is of the opinion that workers and their families should not be deprived of their festivities owing to such an impasse”.

Directing that the bonus should be paid by October 4, the State Government urged representatives of management and trade unions to ensure “industrial peace, harmony and discipline in the tea gardens”. Earlier, the tea garden workers of Terai and Dooars regions had agreed to a 16% bonus after a meeting with tea garden management.

B.M. Rai, one of the protesting union leaders of tea gardens in the hills, said that workers will not accept any advisory regarding bonus if the bonus is less than 20%. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha member president of Darjeeling’s Hamro Party Ajoy Edwards claimed that the movement in the Hills may escalate beyond control. Mr. Edwards is on a dharna at Shramik Bhavan lending support to demand of tea garden workers.

The dispute over bonus comes at a time when the Darjeeling Tea industry is facing a crisis of low production due to adverse weather conditions and erratic rainfall. The Indian Tea Association had sought financial assistance from the Centre to support the Darjeeling tea industry. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who recently was on a visit to north Bengal, had said that she does not support any strike.