Thousands of tea workers under the banner of the Joint Forum of Operating Trade Unions of the Tea Industry of West Bengal staged demonstrations outside tea estates across the Terai, Dooars and Darjeeling hills on Friday before joining work.
The workers demanded an early resolution of long-pending industrial disputes and workers’ welfare issues.
The forum had submitted an 11-point memorandum on 20 July to tea garden managements, the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), the Labour Commissioner, the Principal Secretary of the Labour Department, the Tea Board Chairman and other authorities. The unions also submitted reminders seeking immediate action on their demands.
The charter calls for notification and implementation of minimum wages for tea workers, revision of salaries for monthly-paid employees, better wages and incentives for machine operators, and an end to arbitrary increases in daily workloads and wage deductions.
The unions also demanded equal pay for equal work, paid maternity and sick leave, full AAY ration benefits, proper sanitation facilities, crèches and rest sheds in tea gardens, and a uniform retirement age of 60 years.
The forum further urged the Centre and the state government to provide greater financial support to the tea industry, introduce a minimum support price for green tea leaves and a floor price for made tea, revive closed and abandoned tea gardens, and ensure timely payment of gratuity, provident fund and pension benefits through hassle-free digital transfers.
Convener of the Joint Forum, Ziaul Alam, said, “The government should immediately resolve the long-pending industrial disputes by notifying minimum wages and addressing the legitimate demands of tea workers. The survival of lakhs of tea workers and the future of the tea industry depend on timely action.”
“The severe distress faced by tea workers has pushed migration to an unprecedented level, with many leaving tea gardens to work on tunnel, road, and bridge construction projects, including those undertaken by government agencies. Tragically, many have lost their lives while engaged in such hazardous work,” Alam said, adding, “The tea community of North Bengal will not remain silent over this prolonged injustice and inhuman treatment meted out to tea workers.”
The unions also reiterated their opposition to the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the order declaring surplus tea garden land for resumption, and the Tea Tourism and Allied Business Policy, 2019.
Referring to a memorandum submitted to the then chief minister in 2023, they said these measures could adversely affect the livelihoods of lakhs of tea workers, the tea industry and the environment. They demanded that homestead land rights be granted to tea garden residents and normal operations restored in closed and abandoned tea gardens before any changes in land policy are implemented.