Report by the correspondent of Mazdoor Ekta Committee
The relay hunger strike of tea-garden workers in Darjeeling, under the leadership of Hill Plantations Employees Union, is continuing since 8 October. Tea-garden workers are fighting a militant struggle for their just demand of bonus payments. Every day a new group of workers is joining the hunger strike. The participation of women workers in the entire struggle and in the hunger-strike is very strong and militant.
It is worth mentioning that a few days ago, the workers of Longview Tea Garden in Darjeeling had achieved a significant victory through a militant struggle against the atrocities and looting by the tea garden owner.
The main issues on which victory was achieved include – regular payment of current salary; adherence to the instructions of the committee formed by the Supreme Court on PF; Additional Labour Commissioner’s intervention on the issue of PF; stopping deduction of PF for employees of 58+ age group; agreement by all parties on smooth operation of the garden; and payment of all arrears including employee-salary, workers-wages, previous year’s bonus, arrears of previous two years’ salary hikes and total arrears of gratuity of retired people amounting to about Rs. 2 crores.
Meanwhile, all the tea garden workers of the hills and the Terai have taken to the path of agitation in protest against the arbitrary payment of bonus in the tea gardens.
It is worth-noting that the tea garden workers of the Darjeeling region including those of the entire state of West Bengal are also paid bonus before Durga Puja. This bonus is important for the tea garden workers who survive on very low wages. But every time the owners cheat in these payments and the workers are able to achieve their rights only after intense struggle.
This time the owners, under the protection of the government, have resorted to even more blatant dishonesty and cheating. They were not even ready to give the minimum bonus, after rejecting the demand of 20 percent bonus. After this the workers chose the path of struggle.