No consensus reached at meeting on bonus for thousands of tea garden workers in Darjeeling

Kolkata: A meeting between a tea planters' body in Darjeeling and workers' unions failed to fix the bonus amount this year for over 55,000 permanent workers in 87 gardens in the hills of West Bengal, officials said.

The tea planters' body offered a bonus of 8.33 per cent, while trade unions demanded 20 per cent, they said.

"The bonus meeting, held on Wednesday, failed… gardens in the hills are financially stressed due to lower production, stagnant prices, high cost and drop in consumption," Darjeeling Tea Association Principal Adviser Sandip Mukherjee told PTI.

He said the annual tea production declined to around 6.5 million kg in Darjeeling from about 9 million kg earlier.

In a letter to the district magistrate, the planters' body said tea estates are on the verge of closure, as operations cannot be sustained since the factors affecting the industry are not within its control.

"Workers are in distress and finding it hard to make ends meet. We have demanded a 20-per cent bonus, as it would help raise their morale during the festival season.

“But, the garden managements are not willing to pay more than the minimum statutory bonus of 8.33 per cent," CITU Darjeeling district general secretary Saman Pathak told PTI.

Pathak, also a leader of the Darjeeling District Cha Kaman Mazdoor Union, claimed that tea garden workers in the hills got a 20-per cent bonus last year.