Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union (DTDPLU), the trade
union affiliated to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), on Monday gave
tea gardens in the Hills a deadline of 28 February for them to pay the
second and final instalment of last year’s puja bonus. The union said it
will not allow the gardens to dispatch even a sample of the first flush
tea if the managements fail to pay the workers by then.
It also said that workers will now demand housing and firewood as per
the Plantation Labour Act 1951. The DDTPLU had recently threatened that
it would allow the plucking of the first flush leaves and the
manufacturing of the tea, but that it would not allow the final product
be dispatched. “The puja bonus had been agreed to be given in two
instalments following the 104-day shutdown last year. A meeting had
taken place on 21 September last year I this regard. While the first
part (50 percent) of the payment has been made, the second instalment is
still due.
In another meeting on 4 January at Uttarkanya, the labour
commissioner had also directed the tea garden management to pay the
second instalment by 31 January, but nothing happened. The management
has violated the agreement,” said DTDPLU general secretary Bharat
Thakuri. “We have been cooperating with the management, but if they
cannot even pay the puja bonus for 2016-2017, we will also not help
them. According to the Plantation Labour Act 1951, the facilities that
the tea garden workers should get include houses with firewood. We will
now demand such things too,” Mr Thakuri added.
According to the DTDPLU general secretary, the management paid the
workers in cash for the firewood to the tune of Rs 50 to Rs 60 per 40 kg
of firewood. Annually, money is given for 320 kg of firewood. He
maintained that the price for 40 kg of firewood is Rs 1200 in the
market. “We now demand that the managements give us firewood instead of
money from wherever they can,” he said. The plucking of the first flush
leaves starts from mid-February and continues till the last week of
April in the Hills.(SNS)
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?