Terai Dooars-Planters refused to accept trade union leaders’ proposal -Triparite meeting inconclusive

SILIGURI, 6 SEPT: The eighth round of tripartite talks, which began on 4 September in Kolkata, to resolve tea workers’ fresh wage agreement that had ended on 31 March, 2011, was inconclusive on the third day today when planters refused to accept trade union leaders’ proposal.
While the planters’ apex body, Consultative Committee of Planters’ Association (CCPA), stuck to their proposal to increase the wage of a permanent tea worker from the present rate of Rs 67 to Rs 82 a day, the trade union leaders today requested them to pay Rs 90 from the first year.
Yesterday the CCPA had finally agreed to increase the wage by Rs 15 for the first year and Rs 4 and Rs 6 for the second and third year, respectively.
On the other hand, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM)-backed Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union (DTDPLU) demanded that the CCPA should increase Rs 25 from the first year following the decision of the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA). Because the DTA had increased wage by Rs 23 for a permanent tea worker in the Hills following a bipartite agreement with the DTDPLU a few months ago. At present a permanent tea worker gets Rs 90 a day in the Hills.
The DTDPLU’s Terai unit president, Mr Harihar Acharya, said: “The CCPA was very rigid and refused to accept our demand. We propose to follow the wage of tea workers in the Hills.”
“We have requested the state government officials to implement the Minimum Wages Act in tea plantation to resolve the ongoing stalemate in the tea plantation. We would appeal to chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee to implement the Act for the tea plantation workers,” said Mr Acharya.
The convenor of the defence committee for 10-tea workers’ union, Mr Samir Roy, said: “We requested the employers to increase the wage from Rs 67 to Rs 90 from the first year so that a permanent tea worker gets Rs 100 in third year.”
According to Mr Roy, another bipartite meeting is going on in Kolkata to settle the rate of Puja bonus for tea workers.

SNS