Trinamul tea union on anti-bandh drive - NREGS shows way to Rs 130 daily wage cry

The Trinamul Congress has started an anti-bandh campaign in the tea gardens in the foothills through its trade union, asking workers to refrain from strikes and embargoes and instead fight for their rights through talks.

The Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers’ Union also said it would ask the government to help negotiate with planters so that garden labourers in the Dooars and Terai got a revised daily wage of Rs 130, the same amount paid under the 100-day central job scheme (see chart).

The Trinamul trade union’s anti-bandh drive kicks off a day after party chief and chief minister Mamata Banerjee requested all political outfits to refrain from bandhs and blockades as they affected livelihood.

“We are not in favour of calling strikes or stopping despatch of tea. So, we have started campaigns against such activities. Our chief minister has time and again insisted that strikes, bandhs and blockades should be discouraged. On our part, we are trying to take more and more people into our confidence. They should surely fight for their rights but not resort to any action that might affect the tea industry,” said Trinamul trade union leader Joachim Buxla.

The Trinamul trade wing is a constituent of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers’ Rights that had called a three-day strike in the industry earlier this month. Today, however, Trinamul claimed that it had opposed the bandh then.

“We had instructed our supporters to report for duty,” said Buxla, who switched over to Trinamul from the RSP in 2009.

Trinamul admitted that as far as trade unionism was concerned it had far to go and had managed to form units in only 30 or so gardens. Citu and Intuc are dominant in most gardens, followed by the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad-backed labour union.

“We had started from scratch and right now, we have units in more than 30 gardens in the Dooars. Every week, we are opening new units,” said Buxla. “In terms of forming a trade union base, we have a long way to go but nonetheless, we have started working on our agendas to ensure that tea workers are not deprived of their rights.”

Last week, the trade unions scaled down their demand for revised wage to at least Rs 91. The root of the stand-off in the plains is a deal of Rs 90 a day that the Gorkha Janmuki Morcha managed to clinch for workers of the Darjeeling tea industry. The plains workers now get Rs 67.

“As there is no fixed minimum wage in the state, we consider the NREGS rate as the base for calculation of other daily wages. We have told the labour minister that workers would feel deprived if they are paid less than Rs 90. The revised wage should be Rs 130 or above,” Buxla, today, said.

A deal less than Rs 90, many trade union leaders believe, would upset the 2 lakh or so casual workers more than the permanent labourers. “The 2.5 lakh permanent workers, who get additional benefits like bonus, PF, gratuity, housing, ration and free medical aid, is not much attracted to the national job scheme. But for casual workers, who don’t get these benefits, the Rs 130 a day for at least 100 days is surely more attractive,” said Chitta Dey, a trade union leader.

Union leaders said the low wages in the tea industry had forced many youths to migrate to the north and south Indian states where they earn even up to Rs 250 per day.

Absenteeism is a problem in most gardens in the hills and plains. Hill planters blame the higher wage of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for irregular attendance — one of the reasons why operations in the Darjeeling gardens are frequently hit, they say. The job scheme is open to all, including permanent workers.

Hill planters said the fringe benefits given to the permanent workers in the industry and daily wage together makes it Rs 130. Plains garden owners put the figure at Rs 120 or so but refused to blame the national rural job scheme for the truancy trend.

“There is a trend mostly among male workers to stay away from gardens. This is because of a number of reasons but it would be wrong to attribute it to NREGS,” said Sanjay Bagchi, the assistant secretary of the Dooars Branch of the India Tea Association, a body of planters.

The garden owners, however, could not provide a break-up of the fringe benefits in monetary units. “We cannot translate for example a housing benefit or a hospital benefit or firewood given for each worker. But when calculated on a larger scale, it comes to around Rs 120 a day if we add the daily wage of Rs 67 to it,” Monojit Dasgupta, secretary general of the Indian Tea Association.

Source: The Telegraph

Unions in war over wages

Siliguri, Aug. 19: Some trade unions have decided to bargain for a tea wage higher than Rs 91 a day, even if it is only Rs 2-3 more, to win back those who had switched loyalties to join the Adivasi Vikas Parishad backed-Progressive Tea Workers’ Union (PTWU).

The decision comes a day after labour minister Purnendu Bose sent a feeler to the planters that the PTWU was ready to settle for Rs 91, a proposed daily wage that planters are not willing to consider.

An apex body of trade unions has also come down heavily on the PTWU for scaling down arbitrarily the demand for wages from Rs 250 to Rs 130 and finally to Rs 91 without consulting other labour organisations.

“The PTWU had initially demanded a daily wage of Rs 250 and during tripartite talks they had slashed it down to Rs 130. The tripartite talks ended inconclusively at the beginning of this month where we stuck to Rs 130. As a follow-up, the PTWU leaders resumed their old demand for Rs 250 but again, at the meetings with state ministers said they were ready to accept even Rs 91 as the revised rate,” Samir Roy, convener of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers Rights, said. “We want the PTWU to clarify its stand as there is no surety that they will not put forward a fresh set of demands.”

Roy said the PTWU should have consulted the other trade unions and a joint decision taken for a better bargain.

But many trade unions leaders said the PTWU’s new rate has given them a face-saver as well as means to win back their supporters.

“We always knew that the planters would never agree to pay Rs 130. But we could not bring down our rates. Now that the PTWU has done it, it will be easier for us. But we will negotiate for rates like Rs 93 or Rs 95 per day. In that case we can tell the workers that we have got for them more than what the PTWU had got,” a senior trade union leader said.

All trade unions under the two apex bodies will discuss them at a meeting on August 27.”

Tea planters, however, have ruled out paying Rs 91. “Considering several aspects like production cost and tea prices, we had proposed an annual hike of Rs 8 for next three years at the end of which the wage will become Rs 91 after two years,” said Ranjit Dutta, secretary of the NB branch of Tea Association of India. “As of now, it is not possible for us pay Rs 91 as daily wage.”

Other planters said if there was pressure on them to pay even Rs 91, they would be forced to close down of gardens. “Many gardens run with marginal working capital and any sudden shortage may lead to non-payment of wages and other dues, followed by closure of these units,” a planter said.

The Telegraph

Planter feedbacks screen on Monday meet

Siliguri : The committee formed for acquisition of closed tea gardens will meet at New Delhi on Monday to screen the feedback received from planters in Bengal.

Led by O.P. Arya, the additional secretary of the Union commerce and industry ministry, the committee was formed to acquire the gardens by invoking Section 16(E) of the Tea Act, 1953.

“Of the 13 closed gardens in West Bengal, we had served showcase notices to 11. The state will take care of Kanthalguri and Ramjhora, the leases of which have been canceled,” said G. Boriah, the director (tea development) of the Tea Board. “All the gardens have replied. The committee now plans to scrutinize the replies on Monday and to decide on their future plan of action.”

Though Boriah refused to divulge more, sources said most owners have quoted common problems like lack of funds and excess labor force leading to high cost of production that affected the plantations and factories.

Trade union leaders, who were eagerly waiting for the gardens to reopen, voiced their dissatisfaction. “Ministers and officials have made several commitments over past one year but nothing has improved for the workers,” said Chitta Dey, the convener of the Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers.

Source: The Telegraph

Minister intervention plea in felling shade trees

Tea planters in the Dooars and Terai have sought the forest minister’s intervention in felling shade trees.

No shade tree can be cut without the permission of the respective panchayat within which the garden is located. However, since the process involved is lengthy, planters feel the utilisation of Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) — under which old bushes will be uprooted and new saplings of shade trees planted — will receive a setback.

The applications for felling are made to panchayats first, which in turn recommend them to the district level tea committee, which takes the final decision and intimates the applicant garden.

“In many cases, it takes about a year,” said N.K. Basu, the principal adviser to the Indian Tea Planters’ Association. “We want the process to be simplified and have invited forest minister Ananta Roy to a meeting. He is yet to respond.”

Some planters alleged that permissions were often determined by how felled trees were utilised. “When it is a commercial felling, that is, the timber is sold through the forest department, the permission comes early,” a garden owner said. However, when the timber is consumed within the garden as firewood, the permission takes a year to come, he alleged.

Foresters, however, blamed incomplete applications and absence of necessary documents as the cause for delay.

M.R. Baluch, the conservator of forests (northern circle), hinted that a new arrangement would be operational soon. “The range officer will grant permission for felling shade trees. But the entire sales proceeds will have to be used for workers’ welfare.”

Source: The Telegraph

Tea planters dissatisfied with the Centre

Union minister of state for commerce and industry Jairam Ramesh might just have to face some unsavoury questions when he comes to north Bengal on June 29.

Tea planters across the region have expressed dissatisfaction at the Centre’s preoccupation with closed estates alone.

Ramesh is expected to attend a meeting on the disbursement of the Special Purpose Tea Fund at Jalpaiguri on the day. According to Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee, Ramesh will also attempt to open two of the 13 closed estates in the Dooars.

“Will the tea gardens have to close down in order to get the government’s attention?” asked K.K. Mintri, advisory member of the Tea Association of India, Terai Indian Planters’ Association and the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee. “There are a large number of gardens on the verge of closure. Does the government have any plan to help these gardens?”

Planter and chairman of the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee S.K. Saria feared that this approach of the government might even be counterproductive. “If the government restricts financial help to only closed gardens, it may result in other estates closing down one by one. Some of them are barely surviving,” he said.

U.B. Das, the secretary of the Terai Branch of the Indian Tea Association, seemed to agree.

“Barring four of the 47 gardens in the Terai region, all have some problem or the other and are failing in their commitment to the workers, be it provident fund, gratuity or fringe benefits,” he said.

It is almost the same picture in the Dooars.

“Of the 153 gardens in the Dooars, 50-60 are in dire straits and can close down any moment,” said P.K. Bhattacharya, secretary of the Dooars Branch of Indian Tea Association. “They just about manage because of their understanding with the workers. Nothing short of government help can bail these gardens out.”

Bhattacharya said planters would take up the issue with Ramesh on June 29.

“We plan to put forth a set of proposals outlining measures that the government can take,” Bhattacharya said. “If not direct financial help, it could announce some relaxation to the tottering gardens by waiving the penalty interest on accumulated provident fund not paid by planters and extending moratoriums in banks.”

Tripartite meet
A tripartite meeting on Surendranagar tea estate was held in Jalpaiguri today. Conducted by the district magistrate, the meeting was attended by owner Rabin Paul and trade union representatives. It was decided that the few workers, who had stayed away from work since the garden’s reopening on May 17, would join their duties from tomorrow. It was also announced that Ramesh would go to the garden during his visit to the area at the end of the month.

Source: The Telegraph

Asim's sops mismatch tea solution

A slew of sops announced by Asim Dasgupta in Jalpaiguri yesterday has produced mixed reactions.

While workers have refused “to be taken in” by the finance minister’s aid schemes, planters have protested against the “coercive action” suggested by Dasgupta against them.

“We are not ready to be taken in by his promises till they are implemented,” said Biplab Sarkar, an employee of the closed Bharnobari tea estate today. “We want to see if the minister keeps his word.”

The minister has sanctioned Rs 16 crore for closed estates for the next three months and if at the end of the period there is no breakthrough, another allotment would be made.

Dasgupta had also said the state would soon, in association with the provident funds department, initiate action against planters who have fled from estates leaving crores as PF dues.

These two major announcements apart, Dasgupta has also promised a host of aid schemes for the workers.

But all these could not convince Sania Bhumij of Raipur, another closed estate. “The declarations mean nothing to us till some concrete benefits trickle in,” Bhumij said. “There were others who had visited the gardens earlier, but nothing came out of them.”

Residents at Redbank, where Dasgupta went yesterday, however, spoke differently. “Officials of the relief department have started working for the distribution of foodgrain,” said Debabrata Pal, the head clerk of the estate. “Even the process of assessing the repair cost of houses has started.”

Notwithstanding the Rs 16 crore fund, the suggestion of punitive action has not gone down well with the planters. “We feel any coercive action will only lead to adverse reaction,” said N.K. Basu, the principal adviser to the Indian Tea Planters’ Association. “The government should think about the situations that prompted some planters to abandon their property.”

Chitta Dey, the convener of the Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers, has welcomed Dasgupta’s efforts, but added: “We want the chief minister and his colleagues to monitor the progress of the plans spelt out by the finance minister.”

Source: The Telegraph